Rolling with the Punches
by RavenclawGenius
Summary: Triple Treble/ABC: Beca thinks, maybe. Maybe she could try out this ever-insisted upon concept of opening up, because, really, Beca already has no one. So what's left to lose, right? (Strong M for language and content.) Slightly AU.
1. The Startling Exposition

_Author's Note:_ I have this split into four parts, and it's already all typed up. Let me know what you think!

* * *

Beca _knows_ it's weird.

Okay, it's beyond weird. It's fucked, and insane, and mostly it's just _miserable_. But she can't help it.

And Beca's tried to help it. Like, a lot. _All the time._

But she can't help it, because when she falls in love with Chloe – falls in love with her constant invasions of personal space and kindness and pure, raw _talent_ – she doesn't know. She doesn't know that the overly affectionate ginger is already in love with someone who's _not Beca_. Beca doesn't know that she doesn't have a chance in hell with the girl who never leaves her fucking head.

So Beca thinks, _maybe_. Maybe she could try out this ever-insisted upon concept of opening up, because, really, Beca already has no one. So what's left to lose, right?

But… _wrong_. So, so wrong.

Because it takes some time for Beca to get used to the idea (and she's not actually sure that she ever does, because it still feels like it takes a hell of a lot of effort to even begin to give herself to Chloe). But Beca thinks… _pieces_. She can do it in parts.

So when Chloe asks to study in Beca's room after practice one day, Beca swallows thickly and rotates in her rolling office chair, breaking away from a really intense (-ly boring) essay for her Philosophy class, and awkwardly asserts, "This is nice."

"What is?" Chloe asks absently, and Beca watches her eyes track another line in her Anatomy textbook before she looks up and grants Beca her full attention. And Beca knows it's stupid, but she doesn't think anyone's ever focused so intently on her before, so her words lodge hard in her throat.

Beca squirms a little and rolls her USB drive between her fingers, before she sweeps her hand in Chloe's direction and tries to specify, "This. Us. It's nice."

"Studying?" Chloe laughs teasingly, but her eyes are glinting in that knowing way she has about some things, and Chloe's waiting for more. Beca realizes that Chloe wants her to say it, even though her freaking _eyes _tell Beca that she probably doesn't need the verbal confirmation, anyway. So Beca huffs, tosses the USB drive onto the desk, and unwittingly scoops up her pencil to replace it, tapping beats against the edge of the wood.

"Friends," Beca manages eventually, adding a would-be-casual shrug that is actually anything but, because Beca knows she's been working up to giving Chloe some intimate knowledge about her life for weeks now, and she's nervous. "I've never really had any before. It's… nice, dude," Beca repeats, and can't help but think that it's incredibly lame.

But Chloe smiles soft and slow and sweet, even if Beca thinks there's some spark in her eyes that should definitely be there, but _isn't. _

"Yeah?" Chloe inquires, biting her lip. "I guess I'll be your first, huh?"

And she grins mischievously, making it seem somehow _incredibly_ filthy to Beca, so she flushes bright red and avoids looking at Chloe for a solid twenty seconds. But then Chloe giggles (and Beca thinks it sounds like music), and when Beca looks up at her, there's something sincere in Chloe's eyes that just _bleeds_ with understanding, and Beca knows that Chloe gets it. Chloe knows that Beca's taking a step in her direction. And Beca's exposed, now. But, oddly, she doesn't feel like she's waiting for the other shoe to drop. So Beca keeps working on her Philosophy and decides to roll with the punches. Because Beca's good at that.

But when Beca (somewhat antagonistically) asks at practice the following day if Aubrey always treats her friends like they don't have voices (and, okay, maybe Beca's a little pissed that Aubrey keeps shooting down everyone's ideas), Aubrey spits something back about how Beca wouldn't know how to treat a friend anyway, because she's never even had one. Aubrey immediately clamps her lips shut, and Beca's pretty sure that the entire rehearsal space is so silent that she can even hear Aubrey's teeth clack together.

Chloe immediately nudges her elbow sharply into Aubrey's side, and, to her credit, Aubrey looks a little remorseful and shamed and really apologetic, but Beca doesn't care. Because Beca's kind of mad, and storming out of the theater. But, really, she's furious. Because Chloe shouldn't have said anything about that to _anyone_, but she especially shouldn't have told the blonde dictator who already hates Beca's guts.

And maybe Beca's hurt, some, too, because… because that was a secret. And Beca doesn't share secrets. Except with Chloe, and that's still new for Beca.

* * *

Beca stays mad for two days, and ignores Chloe's texts and calls, despite that they just _breathe_ apology. But Beca knows that Chloe means it, so when she's done fuming, she can admit that, yeah, maybe she likes that Chloe thought something about Beca was important enough to tell her best friend. And, okay, so maybe it's kind of nice that Aubrey relayed her utmost regret, too – even if it was only in a Facebook message.

So Beca invites Chloe over via text, and, when Chloe doesn't reply right away, thinks that maybe she'd gone too far, and maybe she should have thought to use her big girl words and just _asked_ for space, instead of avoiding the cause of her discomfort.

But Chloe shows up at her door ten minutes later, frowning hard and serious, holding up a peace offering of vanilla latte with extra whip (and Beca internally swoons a little, because it's her favorite kind, and Chloe _remembers_).

"What's this?" Beca asks, tilting her head curiously and accepting the paper cup dutifully, closing her fingers around it and shoving the door open with the back of her knuckles, gesturing with her free hand for Chloe to come in.

Chloe's big, baby blues lock in on Beca's eyes, and Beca's pretty sure that words are forming on the edges of those perfect lips, but she can't hear them at all. Because, damn it, her _eyes_, and Beca's distracted.

So when Chloe looks at her expectantly, nervous and now suspiciously silent, Beca clears her throat, cringes at her own lack of grace, and croaks, "What?"

But somehow Chloe mixes in amusement with all that solemnness (in a way that, Beca's convinced, only Chloe could manage so effortlessly), and repeats, "It's an apology. I shouldn't have said anything to Aubrey, and, Becs," and Beca will deny that her breath hitches, because she _so_ should not be this happy that she's close enough to Chloe for nicknames, "I'm really, really sorry."

"I overreacted," Beca shrugs, taking a seat on her bed and scooting back until she can rest against the wall. She motions for Chloe to join her, but the redhead still looks hesitant, and sits precariously at the edge of the mattress, instead.

"But you didn't," Chloe disagrees, shaking her head in denial, and Beca knows that, but she's made Chloe feel guilty enough, and red strands of hair are drifting to cover parts of her face, so even if she wanted to, Beca couldn't stay angry with her. So Beca opens her mouth to say that she isn't mad, and is unceremoniously cut off by a rambling mess that is so atypical of the redhead that Beca's a little stunned. And it might be a little _incredibly fucking _cute that Chloe's so eager to defend Beca's two days of avoidance, even while she's trying to bring that avoidance to a stop. "You're a very private person, Beca, and I know that. You don't trust easily, and I know that, too. So I really shouldn't have run home to tell Aubrey those things that you trusted me with.

"But it made me really… sad," Chloe struggles to find the word, and Beca's not sure why, but Chloe keeps going like the hesitation never happened, so Beca tries to ignore that it did, "to hear that you'd never really had anyone that you could count on. And Aubrey noticed that I was… sad," and there's that hesitation again, but it goes ignored a second time, and Beca doesn't question it, "and she asked why, and, I swear, Beca, it was just like… _word vomit_. I couldn't even help it!"

Beca barks out a laugh, both at the phrase and the frantic, pleading look in Chloe's eyes. So she smirks, and replies, "I already forgave you, Beale. You can stop justifying yourself any time you're ready." And she bumps her shoulder against the redhead's when she finally relaxes, pushing herself up against the wall to mimic Beca's position.

"I'm glad we're friends, still, Becs," Chloe murmurs softly.

"Me too, loser," Beca laughs quietly. And she meant it, which Beca thinks is weird, because maybe (probably) she should still be mad, but it's _Chloe_. And that means something to Beca.

But, Beca thinks, it's _Chloe_. And keeping secrets isn't really her thing. So if Chloe's trying this for Beca, maybe she can try something for Chloe, too. Give and take, right?

So Beca clumsily adds, "And maybe it's okay if you tell Aubrey some stuff. If, you know, you really can't keep it to yourself."

"What?" Chloe asks, jerking her head up in surprise, but Beca's pretty sure that she heard, because her eyes are sparkling bright and happy, and she's biting her lip against a grin (which is sexy, Beca thinks), so Beca rolls her eyes.

"_Just_ Aubrey," she emphasizes. "Sometimes," she stipulates. "And only when you have to, Beale."

Chloe beams (and Beca thinks that's just blinding, and she a little bit wants to close her eyes, because it's kind of _exactly_ like a beam – a high beam from an oncoming car, and it hurts your eyes, but you can't look away, because, _hi_, potential oncoming collision here, and Chloe Beale is definitely collision-y), and the ginger latches onto Beca's arm and leans in close, nuzzling her face against Beca's shoulder. And Beca's almost positive that her organs all simultaneously leap and resettle in _all the wrong places_, because Chloe's breath is hot on Beca's skin, even through the flannel of her plaid shirt, and this girl is so… disarming.

Yeah, that's a really good word for Chloe. _Way to go on the vocab, Mitchell_, she commends herself.

And right then, with the warmth of Chloe's touch and breath (that's really, really putting the heat of her coffee to shame), and the tickle of red hair against her neck, Beca thinks, _maybe_. Yeah, maybe loving Chloe Beale isn't so bad, right?

But… _wrong. _So, so wrong.

Because when Aubrey appraises her the next day at practice with suspicion and just a little bit of approval (which, okay, wow, doesn't actually look so bad on the normally rigid blonde), Beca's insides twitch a little with discomfort. And she doesn't actually _mind _that Aubrey knows things about her, because Beca's given her rights to the knowledge now, and that's okay. And she thinks maybe Aubrey might get that Beca's taking a step in her direction, too.

And Beca isn't really sure why she takes that one at all, but it feels kind of nice. So Beca decides to roll with the punches. Because it's already been determined that, yeah, Beca's good at that.

So she offers a tentative smile, and Aubrey grins (downright _grins_ at Beca), and Beca knows she's not the only Bella who thinks that's strange. Even Chloe launches herself into Aubrey's arms and presses a wet, sloppy kiss against her cheek, and Beca doesn't really have time to feel jealous, because Aubrey's still grinning at her over Chloe's shoulder, and Beca's still smiling.

But Beca thinks that Aubrey's grin is also a little disarming, so she strips off her coat for cardio and tries not to think about the encouraging slap to her ass that she (exclusively) gets from Aubrey during her third lap around the stadium seats and instead focuses on the way that Chloe's front presses against Beca's back when she helps her with the routine, and the flutter in her stomach when, somehow more intimately, Chloe's fingers tighten promisingly against her wrists once she gets it right.

* * *

When Chloe sneaks up behind Beca's chair three months later (after barging into Beca's room unnoticed, throwing her arms around Beca's shoulders) and all but rips the headphones off her ears in her eagerness to hear Beca's often-discussed mixes, Beca shuffles uncomfortably and can't take them back. Because she can just picture in her head the hurt look on Chloe's face, and even the _mental_ image of that makes Beca infuriatingly, pathetically depressed. So she sits. And she watches.

She watches Chloe's brows furrow with her concentration, and she watches Chloe frown a little as she listens to Beca's newest mix (which is definitely, humiliatingly Chloe-inspired), and Beca twists against the rings on her fingers and thinks she should avert her eyes. But she doesn't. She can't. Because Chloe doesn't know it, but she's pretty much just ripped out Beca's _soul_ and, keeping with the metaphor, she's walking around it and scouring it up and down for flaws (of which Beca is sure there are many) and Beca's helpless on the sidelines, awaiting final judgment.

But after three minutes, the redhead just as eagerly whips off the headphones, and looks down at Beca with something that looks a lot like awe, and she mutters meaningfully, "You're incredible, Becs."

"Yeah?" Beca asks, because, alright, Beca's kind of really insecure. Especially where Chloe is concerned.

"Yes," Chloe nods emphatically, and leans down to softly whisper her cheek across Beca's, before she's brushing a kiss against the dimple that just magically flickered to life at the edge of Beca's mouth.

Beca's face flames red and she fumbles with the cord of her headphones for a second before she gathers herself and grins (stupidly, Beca will privately concede) and mumbles an awkward but grateful, "Thanks."

Chloe shifts around anxiously for a minute, and Beca raises her brow and folds her arms over her chest. "Out with it, Beale," she demands, because _obviously_ Chloe wants to say something, and Beca thinks that maybe Chloe's so awful at keeping secrets because _even her body_ is against her keeping them.

"I just think," Chloe says slowly, licking her lips and outright stalling, so Beca tries her best to wait patiently (even though patience has never, _ever_ been a trait in Beca's admittedly limited emotional arsenal).

But her patience, or lack there of, wears thin when Chloe simply fidgets some more and moves her eyes across the room for a distraction. "What is it, Chlo?" Beca sighs.

"I think that maybe I could show these to Aubrey," Chloe says quickly, and when Beca's lips part to voice her discomfort – because obviously Chloe doesn't understand what these mixes mean to her – Chloe cuts her off pretty suavely for someone who was so hush-hush about the subject a moment before. "I think maybe it might help her get you," Chloe rushes. "And I think it might help."

"Help with what?" Beca demands incredulously, because, really, she and Aubrey had been doing _so much better_ over the last months, and arguments really only happened, like, once a week now. Which Beca thinks is pretty impressive, in comparison to the multiple _daily_ debates that they'd engaged in before. And more of those strange interactions had been happening, too. Like, Aubrey would smile more, and Beca was even pretty positive that she'd received a few appraising glances from the blonde – and Beca might've warmed under one or two of them (i.e. turned embarrassingly almost-purple, because, actually, those looks weren't as subtle as Beca thought they could be). But then Aubrey would criticize Beca's cardio work, or the way she hit a note wrong, and they would argue again.

And, yeah, so maybe Beca thought the blonde was kind of staggering when she was angry – like a pent-up whirlwind of emotional release that was drawn toward Beca for reasons she couldn't understand. But she loved Chloe, so she bickered with Aubrey and repressed the hell out of anything else.

"I just… I want my girlfriend and my best friend to like each other," Chloe explains, and she doesn't even bother to look uncomfortable with the fact that she just revealed that, no, she's not totally straight like Beca feared. "Not just _tolerate_ each other," Chloe finishes, and it's like there's something deeper lying in there, but Beca can't begin to grasp at what that is, because Beca's confused.

She's pretty sure that she would _know_ if she was Chloe's girlfriend. No, Beca _knows_ she would know that, because, seriously, it's Chloe fucking Beale, and Beca spends all of her time not spent with Chloe analyzing all of the time that she _did_ spend with Chloe, and Beca would remember that conversation. But – oh. _Oh. _Beca's not the girlfriend in this scenario.

Well, fuck. That… explains a lot. And confuses her a lot, too, actually, because even though she didn't expect that Chloe could ever reciprocate her feelings (even if she'd hoped for it), Beca would be really, really upset (read: jealous) if _she_ was dating Chloe and the redhead acted as affectionately with someone else the way that she does with Beca.

She wonders how Aubrey doesn't hate her more. And she's pretty thrown off when she remembers again that they _had_ actually been getting along really well the past few months. So she has some trouble wrapping her head around that dynamic, too.

"Beca?" Chloe asks, nervous, now, because Beca's been awkwardly silent. "Is that – is that okay? I mean, not about the mixes, but… you know," she flutters her hand weakly through the air like that would somehow help her point materialize in front of Beca without her having to give voice to it, "about – about me and Aubrey?"

Chloe looks hopeful and curious and a lot of things all at once, but Beca can't really focus much on it, because despite her bemusement, she's pretty sure that she can hear the echo of her heart cracking, and that… well, that sucks.

So Beca nods, and turns around in her chair, honing in on her computer. "Whatever floats your boat is cool with me, Chlo," she says honestly.

Because, _God_, Chloe thought Beca was upset that she's _gay?_ Fuck. No. No, no, no. Beca _is_ upset, but only because Chloe is already taken. And Beca's hurt, when she has no right to be. So she has to be a good, supportive friend. Because that's what she is. She's Chloe's friend. Chloe's _best friend_, according to the ginger's assertion. So Beca can be that, if she has to be.

Chloe beams at her again, and Beca can't see it, but she can feel it heating against the back of her skull. Beca tries hard to ignore it and works on her mixes, pleased when Chloe determines that now isn't the time for further inquiries about her music. And the redhead settles comfortably across her stomach on Beca's bed like she fucking _belongs_ there, and spreads her books out in front of her to study.

Beca a little bit wishes that she would leave, because she kind of feels like crying. But she's also glad that she still gets to have Chloe around, so she can't kick her out. So she mixes, instead, and ignores the painful roar of her heart thumping too hard against her ribs. But when Chloe leaves and presses a kiss a little too close to Beca's mouth for it _not_ to be heartbreaking, Beca slams the door shut and buries her face in her pillow.

Beca Mitchell doesn't _do_ heartbreak. But she knows what it's like now, and it fucking hurts.

* * *

When Beca waits for the rest of the girls to file out after practice three days later, she has to remind herself that even if she can't have Chloe, she wants her to be happy. And when Chloe gives her a curious look, Beca shakes her head and walks past her, but she can feel that stare of intrigue following her, and Beca hopes that her friend wasn't wrong, and that this will help _something_, even if she isn't sure what Chloe's goal is. Because Beca's feeling vulnerable enough after Chloe's recent revelation, and this won't help that feeling at all. But it _will_ make Chloe happy. So Beca reminds herself again that she desperately wants that.

Aubrey smiles softly, but obviously with a little skepticism once she notices that Beca is waiting up for _her_, and not for Chloe.

"Beca?" Aubrey asks, shuffling sheet music in her arms.

"Here," Beca blurts ungracefully, and promptly blushes until she can feel it in her ears, because Aubrey's giving her that up-down look again, and, _seriously_? Beca already feels exposed. Because of Chloe. And because she's _doing this_ for Chloe. And because, a little bit, she feels like Aubrey's stripping her bare – and while that's crazy uncomfortable, it also leads to thoughts about Aubrey stripping her _naked_, and that's a little bit turning Beca on, until she remembers that, fuck, that's Chloe's girlfriend, and, damn it, she really needs to get laid. But, fuck again, because _no_. She wants Chloe.

Fucking catch 22s.

"What's this?" Aubrey queries gently, shifting the papers to one arm so that she can reach out and accept the USB drive that Beca unceremoniously shoved in her face.

"Music," Beca replies, wrangling again with the rings on her fingers, until she notices that she's doing it and scrapes her fingers through her hair instead, then tucking them into the back pockets of her jeans before she finds something else embarrassing to do with them. "My music," she clarifies.

"Beca," Aubrey hesitates and casts a short glance over Beca's shoulder where Chloe's standing, but Beca can't look at Chloe. Beca can't look at either of them, really, so she averts her gaze to her Chuck Taylors and toes the crack in the floor while she waits for Aubrey to ask, "Why?"

Beca's eyes shoot up and her brows dip inward. Beca thought Chloe would have mentioned it. But maybe she didn't. So Beca huffs, and clears her throat until she can think of what to say.

Aubrey snorts. "I'm not going to bite, Mitchell. Use your words."

And just like that, Beca's angry and defensive, and a little relieved that she's been given a reason to be both of those things, so she snaps, "If you don't want it, don't listen to it, Posen."

Beca thinks she hears Chloe calling after her, but she can't be sure, because above the throbbing of her blood rushing in her ears, she can't actually make out that much sound. So Beca shoves her headphones over her ears and blasts up the music until she can't hear anything else and fights off the sting of tears in her eyes as she plows through the crowd of the student body to get back to her dorm.

Because, alright, Chloe had sort of just _taken_ Beca's music without permission. And she was Chloe, so that was fine. But… Beca had voluntarily handed over her precious soul to Aubrey, which was maybe a mistake, because Beca felt somehow more rejected by Aubrey's lack of interest than she had felt by Chloe when she'd found out that she was already dating someone. And that was bad, because she'd pretty much spent the past three days sniffling over that, much to Kimmy Jin's frustration. But it was also terrifying, because now Beca's pretty sure that the shit she's been repressing the hell out of for Aubrey might actually mean something, and that's overwhelming and just as bad, because _Aubrey's dating Chloe._

And Beca thinks she's screwed. Or a masochist. But, both, probably. Yeah, definitely both.

* * *

When there's a knock at the door the following day while Beca's trying (and, dude, totally failing) to distract herself from emotion with her Biology work, Beca frowns. Chloe doesn't knock. Kimmy Jin isn't here. And Jesse knows better than to come to Beca's room, after a very harsh (but equally necessary) rejection two months before.

So she gets up and answers, and feels herself heat with twin mindsets of anger and humiliation when Aubrey fucking Posen is outside her door.

"Beca," Aubrey requests carefully, "can I come in?"

Beca wants to say no. She really, really does. But… Chloe would know about it. And Chloe would be so disappointed, and Beca really can't face that right now. Not with everything else. Plus, she thinks Aubrey looks a little pale and maybe like she might get sick, and Beca really doesn't want that, either. And she kind of hates that Aubrey's so uncomfortable. So she nods and widens the door, sitting at the edge of her bed with her hands tucked under her thighs, and she waits expectantly for Aubrey to speak.

"Listen," Aubrey starts cautiously, still standing and folding her fingers together primly, and Beca fights off the quirk that itches at the corner of her mouth because, okay, maybe the formality is a little endearing, if insanely ridiculous – because, _hello_, this is Beca's _dorm_, not a business meeting. And Aubrey brought herself here of her own volition. Isn't formality a little over the top? But not for a Posen, Beca suspects, so she doesn't poke at it. "I didn't really understand what was going on yesterday," Aubrey admits, "and I had to listen to the tracks a few times, but I think – I think I get it now, okay? And I get that these… mixes are really important to you. And I don't think it was necessarily fair for Chloe to ask you to show them to me."

Beca nods and ducks her head, but thinks that maybe it's a little significant that Aubrey understands when Chloe didn't. It isn't that Chloe doesn't pay attention, Beca knows. It's just… Chloe doesn't understand _privacy_, really (Exhibit A: awkward shower duet – but the thought of that makes Beca smile, anyway), which means that, while she understands Beca's reluctant to do it, Chloe actually can't understand _why_ sharing her music with other people would be hard for Beca. Because Beca's private about a lot of things, but about her music more than anything else.

"And… thank you," Aubrey says softly, lowering her head to meet Beca's eyes until Beca's neck arches to follow Aubrey's pools of green upward. "Okay?"

"Yeah," Beca swallows. "Yeah, okay."

But Aubrey frowns. "Beca…" And she stops, so Beca swallows again and tips her head to the left to indicate her confusion. "Beca, have you been crying?"

Beca scowls. "I don't cry, Posen."

And that's probably one of the biggest lies that Beca's ever told, because, yeah, she'd cleaned herself up for rehearsals to hide it, but she's been crying for four fucking days now. Aubrey frowns deeper and moves forward, sitting beside Beca and turning toward her, and Beca's positive that she _doesn't want that_ so she slides away and glares from the corner of her eyes, refusing to shift her body to face the blonde, because _this. is. not. okay._

"You did this for Chloe, right?" Aubrey asks, and Beca's surprised that Aubrey isn't accusing her, because, yeah, Chloe asked her to – but people have asked for a lot of things from Beca, but that doesn't mean that she actually _does them_. So obviously the blonde knows that it means something that Beca gave so much of herself over to Aubrey's inspection just because Chloe _asked _her to.

So Beca nervously squeaks, "What?"

But Aubrey smiles something sympathetic and warm and sad, and Beca thinks that maybe it should look strange on the normally composed and often-strict face of Aubrey Posen, but it doesn't. It's nice. And, okay, yeah, it's pretty, too. "It's okay, Beca," Aubrey murmurs quietly.

But it isn't. It _so many kinds _of isn't. And she thinks that Aubrey knows what she's feeling, and she feels raw and vulnerable all over again, so she looks to the ceiling and tries to compose herself, because no. fucking. way. will she cry in front of Aubrey Posen right now.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?" Beca struggles, and she can hear the strain on her own voice. Because, yeah, Aubrey definitely knows how she feels about Chloe, and that's fucking humiliating, on top of all the other humiliations she's suffered this week. And Beca wants to throw Aubrey out and isolate herself from the world, but Aubrey was… kind of sweet to come here and apologize (and Beca knows that Aubrey's pride probably suffered for it), and Aubrey even went so far as to tell Beca that she understood, so throwing her out would be rude. And Beca tries not to think about why she feels like she can't be rude to Aubrey anymore, because she's already _super screwed_, but Beca thinks she might be a little in love with the blonde, too.

And, okay, it's beyond weird. It's fucked, and insane, and mostly it's just _miserable_. But Beca can't help it.

Beca knows that she owes Aubrey some sort of justification, because Aubrey fucking _knows_ that Beca is in love with Chloe, and that's the least that Beca can do, so Beca tries her best. "I didn't know you guys were… whatever, okay?" Beca explains, and she's frustrated, and sad, and, yeah, a little close to crazy from overexposure – because Beca Mitchell doesn't _do_ this shit, but lately she's done nothing else. "I didn't know until this week, or I wouldn't have – " Beca sighs. That might not be true. "Or I would have tried harder not to," she amends helplessly, locking her eyes in her lap.

"I know," Aubrey nods comfortingly, and Beca sees her palm stretching out tentatively through the air, and she knows that she should stop it from progressing, but Beca's lonely and kind of wants the contact to happen, and she's also the offending party in this scenario, so she thinks she should let Aubrey do what she wants. So Beca lets it flutter against her arm and unknowingly shifts a little closer when Aubrey's fingers offer a soothing squeeze that warms at Beca's wrist. "I know, Beca. It's okay."

"It's not, though!" Beca fumes, launching upward and scowling, even though she can feel a tear tripping across her cheek, and she furiously swipes it away, because_, fuck_, didn't she just say that she wouldn't do this? "It's not okay," she whispers weakly, and she just deflates, her shoulders slumping and her chin dropping to her chest. "Nothing about this is okay, Posen," Beca says, and she cringes at the way her voice cracks.

"Come to dinner with us," Aubrey suggests abruptly, standing, now, too.

Beca barks out a short, incredulous laugh, and stares at her like she just said that Miley Cyrus was now the sole proprietor of every fucking music label in the country, because, _seriously_? "Seriously?" She echoes aloud.

"Yes," Aubrey confirms. "Please, Beca? It'll help…" But Aubrey trails off like maybe that isn't true. "Just," Aubrey sighs, "think about it. We may not always see eye to eye, Mitchell," she offers an ironic smile, "but I do – care about you," she says, and averts her eyes like maybe she wanted to say something else, before she straightens her shoulders and resumes. "I wouldn't ask you to come if I thought it would make this harder for you, okay? Just… think about it."

"Fine," Beca says wearily. "But I – might not be able to – you know…"

And Beca feels inarticulate, but she doesn't care, because she's tired and emotionally exhausted, and she really needs to cry some more, and she thinks Aubrey understands that she means she might not be able to handle that.

"Yeah," Aubrey smiles that sad smile again and nods. "Yeah, I know."

But then Aubrey does something really unexpected and folds her arms around Beca's waist, tucking her chin against Beca's shoulder. And Beca thinks her hair smells nice, even if it's definitely different than Chloe's, and, after a brief moment where Beca tenses up, she relaxes and takes comfort from the offered embrace.

"I know this is Chloe's thing," Aubrey chuckles warmly against Beca's ear, and Beca maybe had to suppress a shiver, and, _Jesus fucking Christ_, because this was just ridiculous, "but this is pretty okay, Mitchell."

"Yeah. Yeah, it's pretty okay," Beca agrees hoarsely, but she thinks her heart cracks a little more, because, _yeah_, it _was_ pretty okay. But this was all she'd ever get from either one of them, and Beca feels like maybe she might break.


	2. The Staggering Rise

_Author's Note:_ I added this information to the story summary, but I forgot to mention in the last chapter that this story is a little AU. Nothing serious, as in, certain things are just ignored for the purposes of this story, or a detail is changed, but I figured it's worth mentioning in case anyone gets upset over it. It won't really come up until the fourth chapter, though. Also, I might be considering the idea of adding a fifth, but I'm not sure, yet. Because I can definitely end things at the fourth, but I might add another, anyway.

Thank you _so much_ for the reviews, guys! Keep 'em coming, if you please!

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It's a month later that Beca feels obliged (conned, kind of, but she's pretty sure that part's an accident) to agree to dinner at Chloe and Aubrey's. Chloe hadn't brought it up during any of their time together, so Beca isn't even sure if the ginger knows that the idea is on the table, but Beca had found herself in Aubrey's company a lot more after the clusterfuck that had been the revealing of her feelings for Chloe, and Aubrey brings it up, like, all the time.

And, okay, outside of the subject of dinner, Beca actually really enjoys spending time with the blonde. They don't study or listen to music in Beca's dorm the way that Beca and Chloe do, but they take walks around campus after practice some days, and they meet up for coffee on the weekends. And they talk – _really _talk – and Beca knows she's definitely in love with Aubrey, too, because Aubrey's actually really complicated (which Beca definitely gets), but she's still sweet, even if she does it differently than Chloe, and – okay, Beca really, really gets thrown off by them, because she feels a lot like they're both _more-than-friendly _kind of sweet to Beca, sometimes. And it's nice (like, really, inappropriately nice) right up until it isn't, which is usually the around that time that Beca realizes, _fuck_, she's not allowed to feel these things, and, _shit_, she really needs to get this under control.

But Beca wishes it was that easy, because when Aubrey waits for her at the on-campus coffee shop on a Tuesday and there's a vanilla latte with extra whip innocently hovering at Beca's end of the table, Beca thinks, again, that she's totally screwed. But she ignores it, because, alright, even though the thoughts pop up like fucking _Whack-a-Moles_ in Beca's head, she really _tries_ not to think about how she loves Chloe and Aubrey while she's actually _with_ them, because it feels cheap and wrong, and Beca's a little ashamed of herself.

So when Aubrey asks after practice on Wednesday if Beca had thought over the dinner suggestion any further, Beca still really, really means to say no. Again. Because that idea still doesn't appeal to Beca's interests, like, even a _little_ bit. And Beca's definitely sure that she won't be able to get her feelings out of her head around them if she goes – because they'll be there _together_. So Beca _means_ to say no.

But if she'd thought that Chloe's big, pathetic puppy eyes were convincing, it was only because Beca had never seen _Aubrey's_.

Because, fuck, Beca thinks Aubrey doesn't even mean to whip them out, but they're hopeful and kind all at once, like Aubrey's bracing herself for a 'no,' and would totally understand, but she's also simultaneously (silently, profusely, for a reason Beca still doesn't even _understand_) pleading for a 'yes.' So, yeah, Beca feels like a sucker and like her feelings are going to be trampled over and stomped on and crushed beneath the pointy heels of their shoes, but, okay, sure, she can go to dinner.

Like, what? No. That's not a good idea at _all_. But the _eyes, _and Beca totally can't say no to them, so Beca sighs and shakes her head at herself, receiving a broad grin and, upon parting ways, an extra tight hug with a promise to text for plans. (A text that Beca receives, in true Posen-fashion, thirty minutes after the standard _I-arrived-home-safely_ message that Beca requires both Aubrey and Chloe to send every time they leave Beca's company. Because, alright, Beca worries about them. Sometimes. Sometimes a lot.)

So on Friday, Beca stands outside their place and anxiously wipes her palms against her jeans before she works up the nerve to knock. Because she's never been here before, to Aubrey and Chloe's apartment, and she still doesn't really _want_ to be here. Beca doesn't want to see how their styles blend together to form a home. She doesn't want to see if they behave more affectionately here than they do outside these walls. But she agreed, and Beca can't disappoint them, so she raises her fist and raps her knuckles against the door.

And, "Ooph," is all she manages, because as soon as the door cracks open, the ginger ball of energy that is Chloe Beale is hurling into Beca's arms, and Beca has to struggle to keep them both upright. "Hi, Chlo," she sighs into Chloe's neck, bracing her arms around the taller girl's back.

"Hi!" Chloe chirps excitedly. "Come in, come in," she insists. "Bree's making dinner, but…" she trails off, leaning in close until her breath burns hot on Beca's mouth, and stage-whispers, "she's not always so great with the cooking, so maybe don't dig in all at once."

"Something Aubrey isn't good at?" Beca smirks, finding the façade of confidence easier to slip into after a month of practice, but still… this is exactly what she'd been afraid of. This… _hominess_, outside of Beca's own safe place, and trapped in Chloe and Aubrey's instead. "There _has_ to be someone we should call about that, right?" Beca jokes anyway.

"Heard that," Aubrey frowns, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning in the jamb of the open doorway, and Beca can see that it leads to the kitchen. "You're welcome to try it out if you think you can do better, Mitchell."

Beca cocks her head to the left and raises a brow. Vainly, she replies, "I'm actually a pretty good cook, Posen." Chloe giggles, but Beca shoots her a glare, and defiantly argues, "Dude, no. I'm totally serious."

"Then, by all means, prove it to us, Becs," Chloe dares, sweeping her arms out toward the kitchen, and Beca now feels compelled to do just that.

"Challenge accepted, Beale," Beca huffs, and shoves past a crookedly smiling Aubrey, and Beca tries not to think about how that sideways almost-smirk looks really, really sexy on her.

But when Beca gets in the kitchen and moves away from the doorway, she leans her elbows over the sink and sighs to herself. Yeah, this is just as hard as she thought it would be. But, okay, she has to make it through the rest of the night, so Beca inhales and tries to compose herself, but flinches a little when she realizes that she isn't alone.

"Do you want a drink?" Aubrey offers softly from behind her.

"Like you wouldn't fucking believe," Beca answers inelegantly, but Aubrey doesn't say a thing, and rustles around in the freezer while Beca washes her hands (because, actually, she _is_ going to cook, if not to prove a point, then to assign her fingers a task that doesn't involve fidgeting with something that doesn't belong to her).

When Beca turns, Aubrey smiles a little and slips a glass of whiskey into Beca's palm, closing long, tan digits over Beca's until it's fully in Beca's grasp, and Beca wastes no time throwing it back. Aubrey doesn't question it, simply pours a second round, and Beca takes a gulp of that one, too, before she sets the rest of the beverage on the counter.

"Are you okay?" Aubrey asks eventually, shifting to sit at one of the bar stools and remaining carefully out of sight from the living room, where Beca thinks Chloe must be. And Beca idly wonders how the redhead is entertaining herself right now, because normally Chloe clings to human company like a moth to light, but she's still suspiciously absent.

"Yep," Beca assures, even though she isn't – like, at all – and she's pretty sure that Aubrey knows it. "What are we making?"

Aubrey's eyes light up with amusement. "You don't actually have to help, you know."

"Help?" Beca scoffs. "Please. I'll do the whole damn thing myself."

"Lasagna," Aubrey replies. "But, seriously, Mitchell – if you can't actually cook, get the hell out of my kitchen, because I'm not putting out any fires tonight."

Beca rolls her eyes, but assesses the progress that's been made so far, and steps in like she's fucking at home in that kitchen, folding the sleeves of her shirt up to her elbows so that the material isn't in the way. And it takes some effort, but Beca manages to block out everything but the fact that she's in good company (and she thinks the fact that Aubrey is not-so-subtly replenishing her second-time-empty glass is definitely helping things along), so, forty minutes later, Beca's comfortable enough to assert to Aubrey that her lasagna recipe is _definitely superior_ to whatever shit Aubrey's been fooled into making, and they're bickering over spices when Chloe reappears.

"Oh my God, _seriously_?" Chloe's eyes bug out of her head.

Aubrey brushes off her imagined concern and slices a dismissive hand through the air. "Creative differences, Chlo. Leave us alone. We promise not to throw down."

"Yeah, Red," Beca nods, surreptitiously adding another sprinkle of the garlic powder, which, okay, maybe wasn't as sly as Beca thought, because Aubrey's puffing and folding her arms over her chest indignantly, like, _I saw that, Mitchell_, so Beca smirks unapologetically, and finishes, "I'd kick her ass, anyway - _especially_ if it's a cooking showdown. I got this," she boasts.

"You didn't even come into play until it was almost finished," Aubrey contends.

"Dude, it's like if the rookie gets pulled off the bench in the last thirty seconds of the game and scores the winning touchdown. Still totally saves the day," Beca pronounces.

"_No,_" Chloe hisses, and the way she says it makes Beca think that she actually has something really important to say, so she frowns and looks up at her. "You can actually cook!" Chloe exclaims, but her expression is still so fucking serious that Beca has to try really hard not to sound offended.

"I said I could," Beca replies, and shrugs, "and I can."

But Aubrey and Chloe exchange a look that Beca can't really figure out, and she feels a little uneasy, so she downs another mouthful of her drink, and says, "We're all done here, if you guys are ready to eat, or whatever."

"Starving," Chloe saves, finally breaking from whatever intense moment that she and Aubrey had been sharing as she moves forward to take the dish from in front of Beca.

Beca tries really hard not to blush (and fails) when Chloe's chest flattens against Beca's bicep in the process, but, fuck, it's almost cruel, and Beca feels two different kinds of aches all at once. And even though the ache in her chest hurts a lot more than the other, the twinge that coils hard in the pit of Beca's stomach makes her pretty uncomfortable, too.

And Beca can't look at either one of them, because she probably really shouldn't be here. But she doesn't need to look at them, apparently, because Chloe's parting for the dining room and Aubrey's topping off Beca's drink again (even though she's only drained a little of it since her last refill), and the blonde offers Beca a side hug, her hip bumping lightly against Beca's, and even though Beca knows that Aubrey's trying to be comforting, her dual aches only intensify.

"Relax," Aubrey murmurs. "I know it's hard. I'm sorry. But it – we just – we just want to talk to you, Beca."

And Beca knows it's weird that Aubrey's stuttering over her phrases, but Beca thinks that maybe Aubrey's finally reconsidering her belief that this dinner will make things easier, and she feels a little vindicated. Still miserable, but a little vindicated.

Beca nods anyway and lowers her sleeves again, because, damn it, she's trying, and she follows the blonde into the dining room to meet Chloe, noting that Aubrey lifts a bottle of wine from the fridge and Beca's (apparently private, and admittedly much-preferred) bottle of liquor on the way.

But Beca wonders how much of this dinner is actually supposed to be spent _talking_, because she's poking around at her food and Aubrey's taking polite-sized bites, like always, and nobody's speaking at all. But Chloe's vigorously shoveling her food down, and Beca thinks that's a little off, because, okay, Chloe can eat – especially when she's hungover, when no one else can even consider the notion of food – but she's rarely this enthusiastic about it. Chloe likes to savor her food.

So when Chloe's plate is empty and she huffs and throws her fork down, Beca should know that something significant is about to happen. Because Chloe is frustrated, and Beca's pretty sure that she's about to share why. But everyone stays quiet for another minute and Chloe swallows a healthy portion of her wine (actually, Beca thinks she just swallowed almost all of it, which is really not okay, if the disparaging look that Aubrey flicks in Chloe's direction is anything to go by, but Chloe doesn't notice). Instead, Chloe leans back in her chair and matter-of-factly announces, "Aubrey and I want you to be with us."

And, _what the fuck?_ So Beca chokes on her bite of pasta and barely has time to notice that Aubrey's glowering a Hitler-esque look of fury at their redheaded dinner companion, before Beca blinks twice and convinces herself that Chloe just can_not_ mean that the way that Beca interpreted it.

So, "_What?_" Beca demands, leaning forward in the hopes that she will actually hear Chloe spit out an entirely different set of words, because Beca's actually hoping a little that, yeah, she _is_ just that fucking crazy.

"You know," Chloe says, matching Beca's movement and tilting her body inward, folding her stomach a little across the table, "like, _be_ with us," she says throatily, and she's doing that really sexy biting-her-lip-against-a-grin thing that Beca both loves and hates, and, to make things worse, Chloe adds a suggestive wink that, yeah, suggests a _hell of a lot_, and Beca flushes bright red, because she's embarrassed and confused and feels kind of like she's being punk'd, because this is fucking insane.

"Chloe!" Aubrey snaps out finally, and Chloe reels back in her seat like she's been burned, but her eyes look confused – like, _how the hell did she do that wrong? _And Beca's not really sure, because she's positive that there definitely _isn't _a right way to do that, but it's obvious that Aubrey thinks differently.

Beca shifts incredulous eyes between them both, and she's pretty sure that her mouth is unattractively falling open and shut while she tries to process, but Chloe's still looking confused (and a little indignant), and Aubrey looks miffed and mortified and afraid all at once, like Chloe's ripped the carpet right out from under her and left her floundering on the ground like a fish on land. But Beca's absolutely fucking sure that they'd _both_ just done that to her, so, okay, she can't really refrain from launching up to her feet, and she kind of doesn't care when the back of her chair clatters noisily against the floor in the otherwise painfully silent room.

"Dude, _no_!" Beca rejects vehemently, and she feels her hair whipping over her ears with the vicious shakes of her head that accompany the sentiment, but she can't stop the motion – and she knows because she thought to try, and her efforts failed spectacularly.

Chloe looks hardcore devastated, and Aubrey looks pale and like she's definitely, definitely going to be sick, so Beca heaves in a sharp breath and swallows thickly, forcing herself to calm down. Because, okay, yeah, her emotions definitely get to have a say in this, even if they haven't gotten to have a say in much at all over the last few months, but she has to do some damage control here before Aubrey and Chloe douse the room in vomit and tears.

And Beca decides that vomit is worse, so she blinks, gathers herself as much as she can, and snatches the bottle of wine from the center of the table with shaky hands, pouring a really, really large glass of the liquid and shoving it into Aubrey's palm. "Drink that," Beca instructs, and her voice quivers, but she's pretty sure that her eyes are equal parts guarded and authoritative, so she isn't surprised when, despite her earlier qualms with Chloe's wine-drinking habits, Aubrey downs the alcohol in one go.

"Now breathe," she tells Aubrey, forcing her tone to soften until it's almost a sigh, and she takes Aubrey's arm in her palm, circling soothing patterns across the blonde's forearm with her thumb as she kneels between the two women she's excruciatingly in love with, her back to Aubrey while she faces Chloe. Beca slides her fingers down until she can tighten her fingers over Aubrey's wrist and arches her neck up so that she can lock her eyes onto Chloe's while she speaks.

Beca's not really good at comforting, but she knows she has to get her shit together, here, because _they need her to_, so she swallows again and reaches her opposite hand to close over Chloe's knee. "Chlo," she rasps, and shakes her head, because, fuck, how the hell is she supposed to make this better without completely losing them both? "I _can't_," Beca insists, and she feels Aubrey slip her fingers through Beca's grip so that they tangle together with Beca's, and Beca grasps onto them, _hard_.

"Why not?" Chloe asks, and she's frowning, and her eyes are watering, and Beca kind of hates that she's done that, because Chloe is happy, and warm, and fucking_ rainbows_, but – _no_. Beca definitely, definitely can't give her this one, because she _cannot_ just sleep with them and go on like it never happened. She just can't.

"Because," Beca explains, tipping her head back to investigate the ceiling, because, yeah, maybe it's a stupid hope, but wouldn't it be nice if the words she needed were just swimming around somewhere up there for her to find?

"But, I thought – " Chloe furrows her brow and looks to Aubrey for support, but Beca can't look at both of them at once, from her position, so she misses the nonverbal communication that travels over her head. "Don't you want us, Becs?" Chloe asks, small and vulnerable, and, okay, Beca's been feeling like that for a _long fucking time now_, but she never wanted to make _Chloe_ feel that way.

So, okay, it's time to do this. Her heart's already broken, so it can't get any worse, and, you know, Aubrey already knows half of it, so there's that small comforting thing, but Beca's never been good at this. She's never been good at feelings, and this is supposed to be Chloe's _thing_, but Chloe can't do it right now, so Beca has to man the fuck up.

"Chloe, it isn't that. It's – I can't _just_ sleep with you," Beca emphasizes, hoping it explains her feelings well enough, because Beca isn't actually sure that she's _capable _of expressing more. And she knows that Aubrey understands, at least, because her fingers are death-gripping against Beca's, and it kind of hurts, but the comfort is there, too, so Beca works up the courage to add, "Not with – with either of you."

And she thinks that part is news to even Aubrey, because she hears the blonde suck in a quick gasp, but Aubrey's fingers somehow tighten more, like maybe it's okay that Beca really does mean both of them, and Beca hopes that's true.

"She didn't mean it that way," Aubrey asserts, and she sounds shaky, so Beca sighs, stands, and takes a step back so that she can see them both. "She didn't – she didn't mean just for a night, Beca." And Aubrey's really nervous now, but Beca's just confused, so she rakes both of her hands through her hair and then twists, and twists, and _twists_ against the rings on her fingers.

"God, _no_!" Chloe cries, and she throws a panicked look in Aubrey's direction, and Aubrey, for a second, looks a little more like herself, because Beca's pretty sure that the look Chloe's receiving in return is just fucking full of _I-told-you-so_. "No, Beca!" Chloe tries again. "Damn it," she sighs to herself. "Okay. Okay. I did this wrong," Chloe resigns frantically, like she's trying to figure out how to fix her mistake, now, instead of denying that she's made one.

"That's why," Aubrey reprimands pointedly, "we had a _plan_, Chloe."

And, okay, obviously this didn't come out of nowhere for them, but Beca's had a lot to sort through, and in a very small (woefully insufficient) amount of time, so it hadn't actually occurred to her until now that this had been something that the two had _discussed_. And Beca's still confused, but she's also feeling a little betrayed, because, alright, she feels like she's been manipulated into coming here for this. And even if Chloe didn't know about them, per se (but Beca now suspects that she did know, because clearly Aubrey's told her _something_), Beca feels like her feelings in this have been completely disregarded, and her heart actually feels shattered. Like, to irreparable pieces. Because even though something is still throbbing agonizingly in her head and ears, and it _feels_ a lot like a pulse, Beca's pretty sure that her heart can't actually be working right.

"Okay, no," Beca snarls, cutting off whatever response Chloe had been in the process of forming. "No, because this," she gestures between the three of them, "this can't happen. Because you guys are fucking dating, and I'm fucking in love with _both of you_, so I can't fucking sleep with you, because even being here _hurts_, okay? So I'm not gonna sign myself up for that so that you guys can add some flavor to your fucking sex life or whatever. I _can't_," Beca says, and she knows that she's swearing a lot and that she sounds like she's pleading (probably because she is, even if she isn't really sure what she's asking for), and angry, hurt tears are burning in her eyes, but she's been the best friend for fucking long enough, and now she feels like she's being jerked around, and nothing about this is fair. So she slouches over, defeated, and finishes, "I just can't."

"Beca," Aubrey stands, and is at Beca's side now, palm rubbing circles against her lower back, and Beca knows that Chloe wants desperately to speak, but Aubrey's handling this now, which, okay, Beca thinks is better. Because everyone's obviously feeling pretty emotional right now, but Aubrey's better at picking through the words that Beca gives voice to in order to find the ones that she _can't_ give voice to, and Beca thinks she really needs that. "This was tactless, okay? We know," Aubrey assures softly, and looks over to Chloe, who nods emphatically, even though she still looks really fucking close to tears. And Beca knows that Chloe didn't _mean_ to hurt her, so she tries for a weak smile to say, _I'm sorry I shouted at you_ and _it's okay_, even though it doesn't feel that way at all.

"But I think," Aubrey adds carefully, "that we're on different pages about this. Because Chloe and I, we didn't actually _mean_ that we just want you for sex, Beca."

And Beca's head is reeling, and this is fucking exhausting, so she frowns, leans forward to grab the bottle of Jack from the table, takes a hard swig, and motions to the living room. Because she needs to sit down. And this dinner definitely feels ruined and her heart's somewhere around here on the floor, Beca's pretty sure, so she needs a change of venue, because this room hurts too much.

Chloe and Aubrey follow behind her, and Aubrey sits atop the coffee table, knees grazing softly against Beca's, and Chloe sits next to Beca on the sofa. She doesn't curl her legs up to full-on snuggle into Beca's side like she normally would, but she latches onto Beca's arm with both of her own and looks pleadingly at Aubrey, like, okay, yeah, she said what she felt and it hadn't gone over well, but Aubrey can fix it with the crazy, mystic words that so habitually and meticulously curl off the edge of the blonde's tongue.

But Aubrey's quiet, too, which Beca is thankful for, because she needs a second to just… _breathe_, and she's pretty sure that Aubrey knows that. Because Aubrey's good at timing the way that Chloe's good at _feeling. _And when Beca finally feels like she can bear more (because she _has to_, and because, no matter what they're trying to do here tonight, Beca _can't_ lose them), she says, "Okay. Okay, so what – " she clears her throat, "what are we getting at, here?"

"Chloe and I have feelings for you," Aubrey says frankly, but it's gentle and easy, like, yeah, that's big news for Beca, but it isn't for them, so Aubrey understands if she needs a second to work through it.

"Serious feelings," Chloe interjects, now, because _this_ is the part that Chloe's good at. "Like, we're both in love with you, too, Becs. And… we weren't totally sure if you felt that way about Aubrey, so… _yay_," she bites her lip against her excitement, like she knows that this isn't _really_ the appropriate time for it, but she's _Chloe_ and she just can't help it, and Beca almost wants to laugh at it. Actually, she does a little, and even Aubrey cracks a small smile.

But then Beca's churning information, again, and she sighs.

"I don't… understand what any of this _means_," Beca admits, fluttering her fingers defenselessly through the air. "I mean, dude, I'm totally for two hot women being into me," she stumbles quickly to reassure, and rolls her eyes, because, okay, _no_, she's not good with words, either, but Chloe grins and Aubrey snorts, so maybe she didn't do as bad as she thought. "But I'm not totally sure what you're asking me, here."

"We want you," Chloe blurts, and she blushes hot red, and looks ruefully at Aubrey like she just _knows_ she should've filtered that out, but Aubrey smiles at her kind of adoringly, and Beca thinks they're both kind of adorable.

"But not just for sex," Aubrey supplements cautiously, scanning Beca's face with absorbing, calculating emerald eyes, like she's waiting to assess any twitch of emotion that flickers across Beca's face and is prepared react accordingly to whatever emotion that happens to be.

"But definitely for that, too," Chloe divulges, and it sounds low and needy, and Beca squirms a little, because it's also really close to her ear.

"_Chloe,_" Aubrey sighs exasperatedly.

"What?" Chloe demands, clearly frustrated now – like, dude, no, that was _totally_ an appropriate thing to say, this time, and Chloe just won't tolerate a difference of opinion.

"That isn't the point," Aubrey tells her.

"But it totes _is_ the point!" Chloe cries. "I mean, we're practically dating her already, Bree. She just didn't know it yet!"

"Dude!" Beca interrupts. "I'm _right here_," she reminds them, gesturing down the length of her torso to emphasize her existence. "And I don't think it counts as dating if I didn't know about it," she huffs. "Also, I don't spend time with the two of you _together_ anywhere outside of practice, so it definitely doesn't count. Just saying."

"Because you _wouldn't_ spend time with us together outside of practice," Aubrey points out, crossing her arms and tipping her chin up defiantly.

"Because you're dating and it _sucked_!" Beca claims ardently, and Chloe giggles against her shoulder, and Beca's kind of surprised that she's leaning against it at all, because she'd somehow missed it when that happened.

Fucking Chloe Beale and her fucking sneak attacks.

"But we wanted to date you, too," Aubrey says meaningfully, and it's quiet and significant, and a sharp contrast to the squabbling that had somehow comfortably manifested between them.

Beca frowns. "You want… _all three of us_ to… date?" Beca asks, and she can feel her brows furrowing, but she looks between Aubrey and Chloe until she receives two anxious nods of confirmation.

"Um… okay?" Beca says, curling her fingers in her hair. "Because _that's _normal…" she mutters wryly.

"Well," Aubrey says, licking her lips to stall, and Beca knows she's seen Chloe do that before, so she idly wonders which one of them picked it up from the other, "it's the only solution that makes sense. Chloe and I love each other," Aubrey says assuredly. "But then we fell in love with you. And I think you were definitely in love with Chloe first, but – "

"Which is _fair_," Beca interjects to defend, because, okay, _yeah_, Aubrey's right (which Beca is ethically opposed to verbally admitting), but it makes perfect sense that she fell in love with Chloe before she fell in love with Aubrey, "because Chloe's a fucking space invader who walks through boundaries like she doesn't even know they're fucking _there_, and doesn't give you a choice about it one way or the other."

"I'm _right here_," Chloe quotes Beca's words back at her and pouts, and Beca is instantly overcome by the desire to kiss it away, like she always is, but she knows she shouldn't. Or maybe she should, now? Beca's confused.

So Beca ignores Chloe and crosses her arms, huffing at Aubrey and declaring, "And, also, you were a total aca-bitch for, like, _ever since I met you_."

"You were infuriating and spontaneous, and you caught Chloe's interest, which… caused some issues," Aubrey struggles, but Chloe smiles softly and reaches out for Aubrey's hand, and Aubrey smiles back and keeps going, "But then you caught my interest, too, and I thought you had a thing for Jesse," Aubrey shrugs carelessly, like, no, that totally doesn't matter at all, even though Beca somehow knows it _really does_. "Especially after you punched that guy at regionals for him. I didn't like it," Aubrey asserts decisively.

"Because he's a Treble?" Beca snorts.

"Because you were supposed to be _ours,_" Aubrey glares with eyes that Beca's pretty sure are just _forged _with fire, but Beca's too caught up on the sound of her voice, because it's dark and possessive and really fucking hot, and Beca likes that _so much_, because the idea of being _theirs_ is… God, that's fucking amazing, and, yeah, it's growing on her now that she's getting a clearer picture of what Aubrey and Chloe want.

"Bree gets jealous," Chloe whispers in Beca's ear, and she's winking again, but Beca knows now that it _is_ supposed to be as enticing as it comes off, so she feels a little less guilty for thinking dirty thoughts. "I think it's sexy," Chloe all but moans in Beca's ear, and it's quiet, but definitely there, so Beca gets distracted.

"Yeah," Beca replies hoarsely, absently. "Me too."

Chloe grins, and bites her lip, but Beca's pretty sure that it's _meant_ to be seductive this time, and fuck if it isn't, so Beca swallows thickly and tries to stay focused.

"Chloe," Aubrey tries for stern, but it falters like Beca thinks it definitely shouldn't, like Aubrey knows what Chloe's doing to Beca and knows that she's doing it on purpose, and maybe they should be talking some more, instead, but… also like Aubrey kind of wants to do a lot of _not talking_, too.

"Hmm?" Chloe hums innocently, and shoots Aubrey a look. And Beca can't really see it, because Chloe's nose is brushing underneath her jaw now, and Beca's forgetting that she was fucking _born_ with the instinct to breathe, but she's pretty sure that whatever look Chloe's throwing at Aubrey is weakening the blonde's resolve, because Aubrey shuffles a little on the table and looks at Beca like _I'm sorry _and _fuck this_ all at once.

"We don't want to pressure you," Aubrey tells Beca finally, and it's sincere, but sounds a little strained, too, like it's taking some effort for Aubrey to keep her voice steady.

"Definitely feeling pressure," Beca mutters dryly in response, because Chloe's hand is on her thigh now, gripping softly, and Beca can't help but think that she definitely wants it _higher_.

Aubrey carries on carefully like Beca hadn't spoken at all, even though Chloe laughs breathily against Beca's chin like she's awful fucking proud of herself for provoking a verbal reaction out of Beca, but Beca stifles a response to that and hears Aubrey say, "But we do want this."

"So bad, Becs," Chloe groans, lips hushing against Beca's flesh, and Beca thinks she might be dying, because her head is definitely swimming, but it's nothing compared to the head rush she gets when Chloe's teeth nip sharply (and without warning) against the curve between Beca's jaw and neck. Beca hisses inward with surprise, and because, fuck, that felt good, but Aubrey's kneeling in front of her a second later, taking Beca's chin between her fingers and tipping it away from Chloe, like she's trying to help Beca escape.

But Chloe doesn't really care, because her nose migrates further down Beca's neck, and she nuzzles it erotically against Beca's pulse, and Beca swallows, meeting Aubrey's eyes and trying to focus on her through the Chloe-induced fog. But, okay, Aubrey's kind of not helping either, because she's talking soft and low, and her fingers are generating heat all through Beca's face.

"I feel like I know," Aubrey whispers, smiling crookedly again, so Beca bites her lip, "but I have to ask; Beca, is this what you want? Because we can wait. Chloe and I can wait until – "

"Dude, _no_," Beca protests, firm and fast and, okay, maybe super (embarrassingly) eager. "_So much no_ on the waiting."

And Chloe's laugh trickles through Beca's ear like fairy dust and leprechaun magic, and Beca feels lightheaded, but now Aubrey's outright smirking at her, because, _yeah_, she knows what Chloe does to Beca. But Beca's not so sure that Aubrey knows what _she's_ doing to Beca, because Beca's pretty sure she would remember if Aubrey had ever smirked at her that way before (she definitely _hadn't_) and it's fucking _hot_, so Beca forgoes a witty retort and surges forward, instead, crashing her lips against Aubrey's soft, soft pink ones, while the fingers of her left hand thread through locks of blonde hair and her right hand cradles the back of Aubrey's neck.

And Beca's pretty caught up in that kiss, because, no, it's not gentle, like, at all – but it's _easy_, even though it's rough, and heat scrambles down Beca's spine like raging _fire_ when their teeth click together with the force of it. But then Chloe's in Beca's head again, and Chloe moans something low and sizzling before she whispers, "Oh. My. _God_," and bites down hard against the shell of Beca's ear.

So Beca pulls back, because, okay, Chloe's voice is dark and sexy and Beca can hear it lacing with lust, and she isn't sure if she can focus on anything else. But she needs to get it together, because Beca's pretty sure that she's going to be having sex with both of them, like, really soon, and that's going to require some broader attention-splicing abilities.

But Aubrey breathes, "_Oh_," and her eyes are dazed when they finally crack apart, and Chloe's nails are marking the skin at Beca's forearm, little crescent dips making swift appearances against her flesh, and Beca blinks like, holy _shit_ – that just happened.

"That was – "

"_So hot_," Chloe cuts Aubrey off forcefully.

Beca flushes beet red, but grazes the heel of her right hand across smooth, pretty skin to frame Aubrey's jaw, sweeping her thumb against the corner of the blonde's mouth. "Okay?" Beca asks, and her voice is unsure and quivering (again), but Beca can't help it, because she hadn't asked for even a little bit of permission to do that, and she kind of wants to hear what Aubrey had been trying to say about it.

"_Beca_," Aubrey exhales jaggedly, and Beca fidgets a little, because she's not sure she's ever heard anyone say her name that way before, "so, so okay," Aubrey finishes, reaching her hand up to tighten comforting fingers over the bend of Beca's elbow.

"Totes," Chloe confirms eagerly, and bites her lip. "But I want a turn," she whispers, but it's almost a whine, and Beca allows some of the tension to roll off her shoulders and she laughs.

"Yeah," Beca agrees, nodding, but gestures down at Aubrey and frowns, "but we should maybe… move?" She suggests. "That can't be too comfortable," she adds.

"You're fucking adorable," Aubrey blurts out (and Aubrey _doesn't_ blurt), but Beca blushes, because she's never heard Aubrey swear before, not _really_, and, alright, it's doing crazy, heated things to Beca's insides.

But Beca remembers what Aubrey said, and frowns (because Beca is _not_ fucking adorable), retracting her hands to fold them over her chest. "Fine," Beca huffs indignantly in reply. "Stay there, then."

"It was a _compliment_, Becs," Chloe rolls her eyes.

"I find it insulting," Beca insists, but allows Chloe to take her hand and pull her upward, anyway, and she's suddenly following a mess of red and blonde hair through a hall and then a door, and suddenly there's a king-sized bed in front of her, and Chloe pushes Beca's shoulders down until she sits atop it.

But now Beca's kind of nervous again, because, okay, _yeah_, this is hot and kind of a dream, but Beca's not actually sure about how this is supposed to work. Like, in real life.


	3. The Shuddering Climax

_Author's Note:_ This is literally fourteen pages of pure smut, guys, so buckle up. And, Jesus, I really didn't expect this much of a response to this story, so, again, I say, _thank you_! Seriously. And please review some more. ; )

* * *

"Relax," Aubrey whispers, sitting beside Beca on the bed, and it's barely a second later that Aubrey's fingers sweep Beca's hair behind her ear with tenderness that Beca's never really been on the receiving end of before. And, okay, it actually does calm her down a little, too, even if her stomach buzzes wildly in reply to the gesture. "It's going to be aca-amazing," Aubrey grins. "Don't worry, okay? We're going take care of you, Beca."

"Mm," Chloe hums her agreement, propping herself at Beca's other side. "We," she whispers a kiss over Beca's cheek, "are going to _such_ good care of you, Becs," she echoes the promise softly, but there's something deeper in her tone that definitely makes it suggestive, too.

"Wait," Beca frowns, and scoots away from Chloe a little to be able to see her better, and that puts Beca's back pretty solidly against Aubrey's front, because, yeah, they're all sitting _really close together_, and Chloe and Aubrey are positioned inward to face both Beca and each other. But Aubrey's arm circles around Beca's waist, and her thumb dips under the edge of her shirt, brushing strokes of heat beneath Beca's belly button, and fuck if that isn't distracting, so Beca has to take a second. But Beca remembers that she was making a point, and catches the pout that she'd unintentionally put on Chloe's face, so, in an effort to soothe it away, she repeats, "Wait. No. I mean, _yes_, but no," Beca insists, and she trifles her fingers through her hair. "I want – I want you, too," she tries. "This isn't just me. I mean, right?" Beca inquires anxiously, but doesn't wait for an answer from either of them. "This is… us. _All _of us," she finishes uncertainly, and Beca thinks that maybe she's said something right, because Chloe smiles, and swallows, and her eyes tear up a little.

And then Chloe nods, takes Beca's hand in her own, and says softly, with a tiny little crack in her voice, "You're right, Becs. It's us."

"All of us," Aubrey resonates quietly in Beca's ear. "But," she adds, and Beca bites her lip, because Aubrey curves her hair over her shoulder and leans forward, somehow finding the most sensitive place on Beca's neck that Beca never even knew she fucking had and flicks her tongue against it, and Beca's canines carve into her lip until it actually bleeds, "Chloe and I," Aubrey murmurs, lips tripping over Beca's flesh, "have been together before. And tonight," Aubrey drags her teeth over the muscle that stretches between Beca's neck and shoulder, "we want _you_, Beca."

"Okay," Beca shudders out a breath and nods, "but," and Beca needs more contact from them, more contact that's a little less sexual, because this is important, and Beca needs them to understand what she means. So Beca reaches back to lift Aubrey's cheek to rest against her own, and reaches her opposite hand out to palm Chloe's jaw, gently tugging the redhead closer until her forehead leans a liitle against Beca's, "I want to learn you. Both of you," she says softly, and, okay, maybe the wording is a little weird for Beca, but it's the best way that she can think to explain what she needs – and, God, she means it – so she's trying so hard to make sure that sincerity backs up her words, but she can feel Aubrey against her back and Chloe's somehow inching closer to her front, and the feeling of being sandwiched between them is heady and heated and dizzying, so Beca thinks her voice might just sound like _sex_.

"I'm sure we can make that happen, Becs," Chloe winks, and her nose strokes upward against Beca's like a breeze that's barely even there, and then Chloe's eyes are hooded, and she murmurs, "We're gonna kiss now, okay?"

And Beca hears (and _feels_) Aubrey chuckle against her ear, so she knows that Aubrey's there, but it still surprises her when, right after Beca's lips connect with Chloe's, _Aubrey's_ lips are connecting with Beca's flesh, too, and sliding openmouthed kisses up the column of her throat. But Beca tries to focus, because, okay, this is Beca's first kiss with Chloe, and while Chloe had been a _little_ distracting during Beca's first kiss with Aubrey, she hadn't done anything like this. And Beca _so_ isn't about to be tricked into forgetting this same experience with Chloe because of Aubrey and her stupid feminine wiles, so Beca regroups and throws everything she fucking has into kissing Chloe Beale.

And, fuck, kissing Chloe is like kissing the sun, because it's warm on first contact, and it burns with heat upon prolonged exposure, and Beca's skin even feels like it's burning, too, but it feels so fucking good that she just can't go inside, or pull away, or… whatever. Beca's metaphor is starting to confuse her, and it's taking up concentration that Beca desperately needs, so it just needs to stop right there.

So Beca refocuses, and kisses back. She dips her tongue into Chloe's mouth, and feels Aubrey's breath stagger across her ear when Beca's hand sweeps up the length of Chloe's covered torso to cradle her ribs. But Chloe's apparently not satisfied with that, like, at all, and shuffles up onto both of her knees, leaning harder into Beca, and Beca, in turn, has to lean harder against Aubrey, who crafts a tiny little whimpering noise into Beca's hair that sounds an awful lot like _need_ to Beca, and she's pretty sure that it's her undoing.

At least, she _was_ pretty sure, until Chloe covers Beca's roaming palm with her own and inches it upward until both of their hands are linked over Chloe's breast, and Beca thinks maybe that's her undoing, instead. But Beca also thinks that Chloe's probably going to tighten their grip soon, so Beca beats her to it, hugging the soft flesh over Chloe's shirt and bra with gentle, humble fingers, and Chloe moans and breaks away, tipping her head back with not-at-all-suppressed delight.

And Beca swallows hard, because, yeah, Chloe Beale is fucking gorgeous. But Beca almost can't look at her right now without exploding (because, Beca thinks, _hi, Icarus, I think we're going to be meeting up soon, I'm flying pretty fucking close to the sun, myself_ – and Beca damns her father for imparting any knowledge of literature upon her at all, because this is _so not the time_), so Beca turns her face so that her nose tucks against Aubrey's cheek and she breathes hard while Aubrey eases off a little, delicately folding a kiss over Beca's forehead, like, yeah, Beca, take a minute. _We love you_.

And that gesture takes whatever breath that Beca had managed to get back right away again, so Beca laughs, husky and incredulous, "Fuck, I think you're going to kill me."

But Beca's not really talking to either of them. Or, actually, she's talking to both of them, but she's lucky that they figure that out before Beca does, because Chloe's suddenly smiling mischievously and batting Beca's hand away from her chest, and Beca frowns, because, _dude,_ why can't she touch Chloe anymore? And, okay, maybe Beca pouts a little, but Chloe winks at her, so Beca tempers her expression to a frown as she watches. And Aubrey's watching Chloe, too, her chin weighing lightly against Beca's shoulder, and Chloe just whips her shirt over her head like it was never meant to fucking be there in the first place, and Beca definitely can't breathe.

Her vision is clouded with freckled skin and black lace, so Beca is a little mesmerized when she stretches out her hand to trail her fingers over Chloe's stomach, and the flesh gives soft and easy beneath Beca's fingertips. Chloe releases a strangled gasp when Beca's index finger drags slowly against the line of muscle that frames her abs, and Beca's eyes dart up just in time to watch Chloe's eyes fall shut and her lips pull back together, and, fuck, Chloe's _stunning_ like this, and Beca wants to see _so much more_.

But Beca whirls her head to face Aubrey, unintentionally dislodging the blonde from Beca's shoulder, and she demands, "You too," and shoots forward to kiss Aubrey, hot and fast and hard, and like it's Beca's last fucking kiss in this world, but when Aubrey moans and starts to tease Beca's mouth with her tongue, Beca withdraws and denies her, and shakes her head. "I want yours off, too," she orders on a whisper, and she doesn't care, because she wants to see them both. Because, okay, yeah, they're going to _date_ – but this still doesn't feel real, and even if it isn't, Beca wants all of it.

But Aubrey lifts her chin like she's considering the option of denying _Beca,_ now, and Beca is so many different kinds of _not okay_ with that idea. So she twists around to put her back to Chloe, instead, and Chloe's hands move quickly to reach around Beca and latch onto her thighs, and Beca feels blanketed in warmth for just a second before her arms surge forward, effectively shoving Aubrey against the bed, while the blonde raises her feet to lay herself fully across the mattress. And Beca climbs over her to straddle Aubrey's legs, but she's interrupted from doing more, because now Chloe's scrambling to straddle Aubrey's knees, and she has something to say about this.

"Oh my God," Chloe breathes into Beca's neck, and Beca starts to think that maybe it's Chloe's go-to response whenever Aubrey and Beca interact with this kind of intimacy. But then Chloe speaks again, and it's raw and primal in Beca's ear, so Beca pays attention (like she has a fucking choice, she scoffs to herself), "_Look _at her, Beca…"

And Beca already _is_ looking, but, okay, yeah, she can see what Chloe sees. But maybe she doesn't, because Beca sees Aubrey's sexy, tangled hair fanning across the white pillowcase and her darkened eyes tracking Beca and Chloe's every movement, and Beca sees Aubrey's famed composure falling to pieces all around them, and it's beautiful – _Aubrey_ is just fucking _beautiful – _but Chloe keeps speaking, and Beca sees something else.

"You take away her control, Beca," Chloe tells her softly, and Beca sees that, now, too. Yeah, that control is definitely gone, because Aubrey's cheeks are glowing pink and she's lying compliantly atop the sheets, panting just a little with her hands beside her ears like surrender. But Beca doesn't know if that's actually a good thing, because Aubrey _really_ likes her control, so maybe Beca shouldn't have shoved her against the bed. But Beca needed to see more of her – _still_ needs to see more of her, and soon – and she'd been pretty desperate to make that happen.

"Don't," Aubrey swallows, like, okay, yeah, she knows what Beca's thinking, but, "Don't. It's…_ God_, Beca, it feels so good," Aubrey confesses vulnerably, and Beca thinks, yeah, that kind of makes sense, too, because Aubrey must _need_ to feel that loss of control sometimes, right?

"I can't do it," Chloe husks in Beca's ear, but her voice sounds like she really, really likes watching _Beca_ do it, though. "I can't take it away from her," Chloe says, and Beca knows this is a serious conversation, but they were _doing_ things, and Beca's eager to get back to them, so she shifts restlessly atop Aubrey's thighs and exchanges an impatient glance with the equally impatient blonde. But hearing Chloe talk is also such a turn on in its own right, so Beca feels conflicted and waits for Chloe to finish. "But it's so," Chloe nibbles on the lobe of Beca's ear and moans out, "_so _sexy to see it happen. And to see you need her so badly that you just strip it away without even thinking about it… _Oh my God_, Beca… You have no idea," Chloe manages finally.

And Beca warms, because, fuck, Chloe's super turned on, too, and Beca loves so much that she played a part in that.

But Beca thinks she needs to be careful about how much control she takes away from Aubrey, especially if Aubrey doesn't usually do this, because, okay, this is important. Aubrey's putting some serious faith in Beca, here, and Beca can't disappoint her. She has to do this right.

So Beca takes a deep breath, and moves her fingers, swift and sure, to the edge of Aubrey's top, and she purposefully doesn't ask if she can lift it. She purposefully avoids Aubrey's gaze to keep from asking permission with her eyes, too. But when she does lift it, Beca does it slowly, reverently inching the material upward to deliberately reveal the length of Aubrey's tanned, toned stomach, and Beca can't help but to lean down and land a kiss against her ribs when Aubrey shifts upward a little to give Beca room to remove it.

And maybe Beca's tongue dips out to catch her first taste of Aubrey's skin, too, so Aubrey sighs softly and Beca feels her stomach clench. Beca isn't sure why, but she thinks for a second that Aubrey tastes like mountains. But the thought is only there for a second, because, fuck, Aubrey's got lace, too, Beca discovers when she raises the rest of the shirt over Aubrey's head and throws it somewhere that's immediately forgotten – lace like Chloe's, only red, and Beca thinks they both look so fucking good in it.

So Beca curls her fingers over Aubrey's waist and bites sharply into the flesh above her hip as she works her lips down from Aubrey's ribs, skimming her tongue against the flesh in her mouth, and Beca's sure it'll leave a mark. And, okay, yeah, Beca's pretty fucking proud of that. But she's much prouder when Aubrey throws her head back and moans loud in reply, and Chloe's lips vibrate against Beca's neck with a sexy noise, too, so Beca sweeps her direction to the right to pop the button of Aubrey's jeans open with her teeth, glancing up for Aubrey's reaction before she does it, and Aubrey looks fucking _predatory_, but she doesn't move an inch.

Beca hears Aubrey hiss in a breath when Beca's chin digs into the seam of her pants as the clasp pulls apart, and Beca really wants to reveal the rest of Aubrey's matching panties, because she can see the crimson material peeking out tauntingly from beneath the blonde's still-fastened zipper, but Chloe impedes Beca by tracking a hand through her hair.

Beca mewls out an embarrassingly affectionate noise and leans into the touch like she can't fucking help it (and Beca actually knows that she really _can't_), but Chloe's touch is gentle and sweet, and she's rhythmically carding the strands of Beca's hair through her trembling fingers, so Beca sighs helplessly and just keeps making that stupid fucking noise.

"Beca," Chloe whispers out her name, and Beca thinks it's fucking sexy as hell, so she forgets what was trying to do, and only remembers it for a second when Aubrey sighs this soft little wanting sound beneath her like she needs _more_, but Aubrey brightens a moment later when Chloe whines, "_please_," and Beca isn't sure what she's asking for, so she turns her head over her shoulder to frown at the redhead, whose fingers tighten desperately (and kind of painfully, but, fuck, it feels good) in Beca's hair, "I want to see you."

And Beca feels Aubrey's fingers dart up the buttons of Beca's flannel shirt without any hesitation at all, so she knows that the blonde wants that, too. So Beca sits up straight again, but then Aubrey's fingers are at the top of Beca's shirt, and the blonde is tracing the pads of them back down through the widened gap that her shirt had created, exposing a strip of bare skin with a plain black bra because, fuck, Beca hadn't been prepared for this like Aubrey and Chloe were. But Aubrey's fingers are brushing down the valley between Beca's breasts like she's the fucking Statue of David or something, and Beca bites her lip, because it's already been decided that, _no_, Beca isn't all that secure, and now there are two unbelievably attractive women tearing Beca apart with their eyes.

But Chloe's impatient and sweeping the lapels of Beca's shirt over her shoulders, and, for a second, all Beca can think is _holy fuck_, none of them have shirts on, and, _holy fuck_, this is happening. But then Beca's disoriented, because Chloe's pushing _her_ this time, away from Aubrey, landing Beca with her back against the bed and her hair a mess that she can feel around her ears, and Aubrey's leaning up on her elbow to keep her gaze honed on Beca's newly revealed flesh.

Beca wants to squirm under the raw intensity of that emerald stare, but she doesn't even have time, because Chloe abruptly shuffles from the bed and strips off her jeans just as quickly as she'd divested of her shirt, and Beca feels captivated by the expanse of her legs. And, fuck, _yeah_, Chloe's got a matching fucking set, too, because her panties are black and lacy and _hot_ against all that naked skin, and Beca wants to appreciate it some more. Beca wants to appreciate it, like, all the fucking time. But then Chloe's crawling over top of her like some chick in a music video that shouldn't even be _real_, and Beca's breath catches in her throat, only to puff out raggedly when Aubrey's lips close gently over Beca's shoulder.

"You're so pretty, Becs," Chloe whimpers, the warmth of her breath splashing over Beca's mouth, and it's almost too hot – _Beca's_ almost too hot – but it tastes sweet like fucking cotton candy or something, and Beca thinks it's mouthwatering. "God, Bree, I can't even – "

And whatever Chloe can't do, she can't seem to _say_, either, because she looks helplessly at Aubrey, whose fingers coil soothingly into Chloe's flaming curls, turning Chloe's face until her cheek is against Beca's nose, instead, and Aubrey nods. "I know. She's a fucking vision," Aubrey murmurs, and the muscles in her arm ripple deliciously as she arches upward to lock a kiss over Chloe's mouth.

And Beca gets it now – gets Chloe's assertion now – because, okay, they're kind of talking about Beca like she's not here, but Beca _is_, and Chloe's fingers are tightening over Beca's shoulders, like, God, she definitely remembers Beca's there, and when Beca catches sight of two pink tongues curling together no more than an inch away from Beca's face, the only words that Beca can think to breathe are, "Oh my God."

Because, yeah, they're _that_ fucking hot, and, for a moment, Beca can't believe that this is the first time she's actually seeing Chloe and Aubrey touch beyond a comforting clasp of hands. But their lips whisper affection into each other's mouths, and Beca can't even bring herself to feel even a little excluded at _all_, because the fingers of Aubrey's opposite hand, still on the bed, are toying with the ends of Beca's hair like Aubrey needs to be touching Beca, somehow, too, and Chloe's chest is brushing teasingly against Beca's as her back bows down low, so Beca lifts her palms to hug Chloe's hips, fingers bunching against the scant material of Chloe's underwear while she watches them meld together above her.

"Fuck," Beca mumbles, because Aubrey's palm drifts through the threads of Chloe's hair until she's cradling the dip of Chloe's bare lower back, and the contrast of their skin is fucking with Beca in ways she really never anticipated. And Beca thinks that touch is promising and seductive and _wanting_ all at once.

So Beca cranes her neck upward and flexes her lips over Chloe's jaw, and she can hear Chloe rake in a gasp before she and Aubrey suddenly aren't kissing anymore, and Aubrey folds her mouth lovingly over Chloe's cheek. But then Chloe is sitting up straight, and breathily announcing, "More. I need to see more of you, Becs. _Please_."

And Beca thinks that Chloe could shove a pistol into Beca's palm and say _please_ like that again, and Beca would nod and fire a bullet straight through her own mouth, so she knows she's fucking finished. So Beca swallows, nods, and somehow manages to grate out a noise that barely resembles, "Okay," from the back of her throat.

And Beca doesn't get to feel anxious about Chloe's fingers working at the clasp of her jeans, because then Aubrey's lips are on Beca's, slow, but demanding, and she's whispering something hot into Beca's mouth that Beca has to seriously focus on to catch, "Chloe's eager to fuck you, Beca."

_Shit_, Beca thinks, because, okay, yeah, the _idea_ is hot, too, but the crude words parting from Aubrey's lips are more pressing right now, and Beca can't remember ever being so turned on.

"And she's going to," Aubrey declares, dragging her teeth over Beca's bottom lip, and Beca's pretty sure that a choked moan escapes her before Aubrey speaks again. "_We_ are going to fuck you, Beca. And we want to hear you," she says, and Beca thinks she might come just from Aubrey's words, and the transcendently erotic tone that she's voicing them with. "We want to hear every," Aubrey's tongue flutters softly against the roof of Beca's mouth, "single," she flits a kiss over Beca's chin, "sound," Aubrey murmurs, and Beca feels a kiss against the line of her jaw as she almost absently raises her hips to help Chloe lower her jeans down her legs, carrying Beca's simple black boyshorts along for the ride, and Beca hardly notices.

"And we want you to _scream_, Beca," Aubrey finishes steadily, but it's barely more than a whisper in Beca's ear before Aubrey's tongue is tracing along the shell of it.

And Beca's pretty sure that she would have expected the dirty talk from Chloe (not that her expectation could have prepared her for it, anyway), but that it's coming from _Aubrey_ – that _Aubrey_ is flaming this filth into Beca's ear… That's really fucking with Beca. So when Aubrey's hand lowers to dance patterns over Beca's hip, Beca thinks she might actually die from overstimulation, even though Beca's pretty sure that isn't actually a thing; or that, if it is, it can't actually _kill_ _you_.

But then Chloe's leaning forward again, her center heating feverishly against Beca's stomach, even through the fabric of her underwear, and her lips traipse over Beca's opposite ear as she speaks softly, like it's supposed to be innocent, but it _so isn't_, "We want to watch you fall apart, Becs."

And she knows that Aubrey can hear, too, because she susurrates low on the other side, "Do you have any idea," and there's a harsh nip on the lobe of Beca's ear, and the cry that Beca lets out is loud in the otherwise quiet room, but Chloe hisses like Beca's noise is _doing_ something to her, and Aubrey moans something soft and needy, too, so Beca can't feel embarrassed about it, like, _at all_, "how often we've thought about this?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, then _do _something about it," Beca snarls out finally, because, God, no, she didn't have any fucking idea until tonight that this had occurred to them at all, but now she's imagining them together, naked and damp and flushed, getting each other off with thoughts of _Beca_ in their heads and tripping off their lips, and that makes Beca _want_.

And she isn't the only one who wants, now, either, because Aubrey bites down hard on the soft flesh beneath Beca's ear, and Beca feels her back rise off the bed instinctively, and somehow Chloe's swift enough to trap a hand beneath Beca's back. And Beca barely has time to think before the clasp of her bra is snapping apart, and each of them are lowering a strap down Beca's arms until she's completely bare before them.

Chloe and Aubrey barely exchange a heated glance before Aubrey's fingers rise to unclip Chloe's bra, too, and Chloe shakes it off impatiently, shifting her legs so that she can straddle one of Beca's thighs. Beca wants to marvel at the exposed flesh of Chloe's breasts, because they're full and a little freckled, and fucking gorgeous, but she only gets to look for a second, because then Beca's frowning and turning her head. Because Aubrey's standing up now, and Beca wants to know where the fuck she's going, but Aubrey just lifts her brow and smirks a little as she tugs against the zipper of her jeans.

"Oh," Beca realizes gracelessly, and flushes as Aubrey lowers the denim over long, lean legs, and Beca just watches, because, okay, Aubrey's pretty fucking incredible, too.

But then Beca moans, because Chloe's just skipped over any sort of descent down Beca's chest at all and her lips are closing right over Beca's breast, tongue swirling mutedly over Beca's hardened nipple, so Beca darts her hand up to roughly tangle her fingers in the cloud of red that's hovering above her.

But Beca peeks up a second later and realizes that she can't take her eyes off Aubrey again, because she did that for, like, a second just now, and she somehow missed the removal of Aubrey's bra, and, fuck, Beca has to take a minute to promise herself that she'll pay closer attention next time. But now Beca watches closely, because Aubrey's fingers are hooking into the band of her panties, and she's shimmying out of them tauntingly slow, like she's a seasoned fucking stripper or something, and Beca can't do anything but swallow as the material glides down her legs.

"So fucking sexy," Beca murmurs hoarsely, and Chloe hums against her flesh in what Beca assumes is agreement before she scrapes her teeth across Beca's nipple until she arches up and hisses.

Aubrey settles back on the bed, and she (politely, Beca mentally snorts) whispers, "Thank you," against Beca's cheek as a reward for her compliment, and Aubrey cradles it in the palm of her hand, tipping Beca's head to face her.

But Beca doesn't let her decide to do it; Beca, despite being restricted by Chloe's weight atop her, launches forward and claims Aubrey's mouth as her own, cornering Aubrey's tongue in the blonde's mouth until she feels a groan buzz deliciously against her lips.

"I want," Beca tries, but is seriously lacking oxygen, and Chloe's mouth is working _magic_ over Beca's breast, so Beca inhales and starts again, "I want you to touch Chloe."

And some guttural noise falls from Chloe's mouth as Beca's nipple does, too, but it sounds like surprise and _desperation_, so Beca thinks she said something right – especially when Aubrey mutters back, "I'll touch Chloe," she nibbles against Beca's bottom lip, "when Chloe touches _you_, Beca."

And, seriously, as far as stipulations go, Beca's heard _much worse ones_. And Chloe's apparently game for that, too, because her lips latch onto Beca's neck, and the redhead's thigh rises to make first contact with Beca's core, so Beca raises her hips and acquiesces instantly, moaning not at all softly, because, fuck, she really thinks she could get off from just a few more repeats of that, and she _doesn't want to_.

So she's relieved when Chloe's nails scrape roughly up the length of her thighs and her fingers dance inward, and Chloe shuffles the back of her knuckles over her own thigh so that she can touch Beca where she really fucking needs it, and, without any other warning at all, Chloe circles her forefinger around Beca's clit. And Beca hears herself pant, but mostly she hears the blood rushing and pounding and whirring through her head, and, fuck it all, Beca thinks she's definitely, _actually_ dying right now.

"Fuck," Chloe gasps, and Beca feels the ginger's eyelashes flutter against her neck, but Beca's still struggling to see past the fucking black clouds that are overwhelming her vision. "Bree," Chloe whines, "she's so _wet_ for us."

And Aubrey bites her lip, like she _totally_ wants first-hand knowledge, but Beca fights through her devastating arousal and raises her brows expectantly until Aubrey's fingertips flutter down the length of Chloe's stomach to fulfill her promise, and Chloe shifts her hips eagerly, just enough to give Aubrey room to work.

Beca watches as Aubrey sits up a little and fastens her teeth over Chloe's shoulder, her hands deliberately tracking over the material of the ginger's (somehow still present) red panties, before Aubrey palms roughly against it, and even though her hips don't move, Chloe's breasts press firmly into Beca's as she sighs hard relief over Beca's collar. But Chloe keeps her pace over Beca's clit, so Beca groans her appreciation and combs her fingers through Chloe's hair.

And Beca's still watching when, a moment later, Aubrey's fingers sweep Chloe's panties to the side, and Beca hears Aubrey whimper, "_Chloe,_" and Beca thinks that sounds almost as sexy as when Aubrey says _Beca's_ name. And she knows that Aubrey must be doing something really good for the redhead, now, even if Beca can't see it, because Chloe's fingers still and her teeth dig sharply into Beca's neck. And, okay, Beca's glad that Chloe's being looked after, too, but she almost wants to fucking weep, because _why isn't she moving?_

So Beca tries to wait, but she's so far beyond patience right now that even the word is a fucking joke, so she slopes her hips up for emphasis, and ominously demands, "_Damn it_, Chloe, don't stop."

Chloe exhales a breathy moan over Beca's neck but nods like, _give me a minute, Becs_, and her curly hair tickles beneath Beca's jaw, but Beca's edgy and needy and she fucking wants it, like, _yesterday_, so she throws her head back with frustration and almost sobs.

"Chloe," Aubrey breathes hotly, and Beca thinks suddenly that, fuck, Aubrey must need some relief, because _Beca's_ definitely desperate, and she knows that Chloe is, too, but Beca can't reach the blonde right now, so she vows to take care of Aubrey as soon as the opportunity arises, "if you stop, I will, too," Aubrey delivers the challenge with a calmness that Beca _knows_ isn't there, because she can see Aubrey's eyes now, and they're honing in on Beca and fucking wild with need.

But Chloe treats that threat like it's fucking dangerous, and swiftly drags her fingers lower, the tip of a single digit sliding hot and fast into Beca's soaking center, and Beca thinks that maybe Chloe moans louder than _she_ does, but Beca doesn't care, because _that feels so fucking good_. And Chloe presses her forehead over Beca's heart as she slips in further until she's knuckle deep inside of Beca, and Beca's fingers flex tensely into Chloe's hair. And Chloe somehow manages to rasp out, "_Bree_, she's so fucking tight."

"How long has it been, Beca?" Aubrey inquires darkly, and her voice sounds like fucking gravel, but Beca doesn't think she can seriously expect an answer right now, because Aubrey twists her fingers hard inside of Chloe and Beca can tell that it's _just right_, because Chloe frantically works a second finger inside of Beca and thrusts quick and rough, and like she fucking knows that Aubrey won't let her come until Beca does. And Beca knows that Chloe needs _so badly_ for that to happen. "How long has it been since someone's touched you? Since someone's _fucked_ you, Beca?"

And, oh, Aubrey _does_ expect an answer? Yeah, no, _that's_ not happening. Because Chloe's thumb mashes hard against Beca's clit, and Beca quickly discovers that talking is definitely a no-go, because her lips part for a scream as her head throws back, but sound _never happens_.

"God, you're both _so sexy_," Aubrey whispers, like her voice can't possibly reach a higher decibel, and Beca thinks that maybe Aubrey's figured out that her previous line of questioning was a lost fucking cause, but Beca's eyes are clamped to a firm close, so she can't see the reverent look on Aubrey's face. And she definitely can't see Aubrey's palm connecting with Chloe's clit, either.

But Beca can hear; fuck, she can hear, because Chloe sighs yearningly and her lips touch softly on Beca's flesh before she senselessly pleads, "Beca. Beca, come for us. Come for _me_. God, _please_, Becs."

And three of Chloe's fingers shove inside Beca, and she actually, literally _screams_, "Fuck!" Because, yeah, Beca _is_ coming, now, harder than she ever has in her entire fucking life, but Chloe starts to tremble above her, so Beca forces her eyes to open in spite of the stars or fireworks or fucking strobe lights or what_ever_ that flash in front of Beca's eyes like they fucking _want_ her to miss this, and Beca _refuses_ to let that happen_._

But when Beca finally snaps her lids apart, she finds Aubrey's eyes, first, and they're practically fucking _black_. And Beca realizes that she can't actually _see_ Chloe, because the redhead's teeth are latched onto Beca's neck, and they aren't letting go. But Beca knows – she knows Chloe's so fucking close, so she rakes her hand through Chloe's hair again and all but wrenches, crashing her mouth unforgivingly over Chloe's and biting the ginger's lip like maybe it'll throw her over the fucking edge, and Chloe inhales so hard that it makes a whooshing sound that draws cold over Beca's face and dries out her tongue. And Aubrey's watching them closely, definitely desperate, now, because her lips are parted and she's panting deep and rough, but then Chloe's releasing this long, loud moan that Beca _knows_, even though she's never heard it before. And Chloe freezes, shudders, and collapses on top of Beca like she can't even fucking think to move.

And Beca's physically exhausted, now, too – but she has something to do, so she can't let Chloe stay. She can't. So as soon as Aubrey's hand glosses across the sweat slickened skin of Chloe's abs and separates from the redhead entirely, Beca circles her feet around Chloe's ankles, grips hard on her hips, and flips her until she's surprised and startled, and flat on her back.

Beca lodges a firm kiss against Chloe's mouth, like _I'll be back_ and _relax now, honey – you earned it_, and then she turns, and propels herself forward, and Beca really doesn't care that when she makes contact with Aubrey, the blonde's head falls to the foot of the bed as her back collides with the mattress. She doesn't care at all, because she's crushing Aubrey beneath the pressure of probably the roughest kiss that Beca's ever bestowed on anyone, ever, and their teeth are rapping together, and from somewhere behind her, Beca can hear Chloe recovering her breath and losing it all over again when she catches sight of them.

But Beca doesn't stay at Aubrey's mouth for long, because she's busy raining quick kisses down her neck and chest, and Beca only pauses to shower a single, frenzied kiss over each of Aubrey's breasts. But she doesn't linger, because Beca knows that the time for foreplay is _so long gone_, and she can explore Aubrey later. Because now, _right fucking now_, Aubrey needs her.

So Beca trails her lips down Aubrey's quivering stomach and stops to nip at the mark that she'd claimed earlier at Aubrey's hip, shuddering at the sharp gasp that the action carries from Aubrey's throat, and then Beca rings her arms under Aubrey's waist and _stares_. Only for a second, because, yeah, she knows that Aubrey needs her, but Aubrey's sex is _drenched_ in a coat of want, and Beca thinks it's fucking beautiful. But Beca shakes herself into motion and dips her head low, looking up at the blonde with stormy, hooded blue eyes as she licks a taste of pure _Aubrey_ into her mouth, and Aubrey cries out like, _shitmotherfuckingdamnit, _and throws her head back, her yellow locks waterfalling over the edge of the mattress.

"_Beca_," Aubrey whimpers, and it's needy, and Beca knows – Beca _knows_ what she needs. But Aubrey wants to lose her control, and Beca wants to take it. And Beca wants to hear her _ask_ for it.

So she laps against Aubrey's clit one more time, pulls away, and orders gently, just loudly enough for Aubrey _and_ Chloe to hear, because Beca knows that Chloe wants to see this, too, "Tell me, Aubrey. Tell me," Beca blows a soft stream of cool air over Aubrey's wetness, and husks, "that you want it."

And Beca knows Aubrey can. She knows, because Aubrey's been spouting off naughty murmurs all fucking night, so Beca can wait. She can wait until Aubrey decides she needs it badly enough to ask for it.

"Beca," Aubrey warns hazardously, and her lip curls up like a sneer to add weight to the implication.

And maybe Beca should listen, but she's so far fucking past that, because Chloe and Aubrey have literally given Beca a night of fucking _fantasy_, and Beca wants to return the favor. And she knows that Aubrey wants this – maybe even needs it – so Beca ignores the caveat and hears Chloe's breath hitch with understanding from behind them. And Beca thinks she hears a little sloshing sound, too, so she curves her neck over her shoulder and has to take a second to remember something as trivial as her own fucking _name_, because Chloe's panties have finally been discarded somewhere, and the ginger's fingers are lost between the apex of her thighs, and Chloe breathes out, "_Beca_," and, "_yes_," as her hand thrusts inward, and Beca wants _so badly _to watch. But Aubrey groans, and that's all it takes before Beca recalls that she was definitely in the middle of something else.

So, as fucking hot as Chloe is, Beca diverts her attention back to Aubrey. And Aubrey's lean frame is flushing almost to the tips of her toes and the roots of her hair, so Beca requests again, "_Tell me_, Aubrey."

And when Aubrey says nothing in reply, only squirms restlessly beneath her, and arches her hips firmly toward Beca's mouth like, _that should be enough_, Beca jerks away and shakes her head.

"Fucking tell me, Posen," Beca growls, because, no, she's not relenting on this, and she needs Aubrey to know it.

Chloe moans, and that doesn't go unnoticed, because Aubrey's head lurches to her left to watch, and somehow her black eyes grow darker (which Beca _knows _shouldn't be possible, because you can't _get_ blacker than black, but Aubrey's eyes _do_), and Aubrey snarls, "Chloe is _fucking herself behind you_, and you're seriously going to play _games _right now?"

And Beca could snap back a reply, no problem, about how, fuck, this isn't a game, it's Aubrey's pleasure, and she fucking _deserves to have it_, but Beca doesn't. No, because Beca knows that this is hard for the blonde, and she can wait. Beca can exhibit that ever-elusive patience that she's never had before but somehow finds in herself for these two girls. So Beca lowers her head and bites down hard on Aubrey's thigh, hard enough to leave dents and probably a bruise, and she contrasts the roughness with a soft susurration, "Whenever you're ready, Bree."

And Beca knows Aubrey's had enough, now, because she snaps – literally and figuratively – and barks out, "I want you to _fuck me already_, Mitchell!"

So Beca does, because she fucking _wants to_, and because, God, it's sexy that she can do this to Aubrey, and, because, yeah, Aubrey's waited fucking long enough. Beca hears Chloe draw an awed breath from behind her, but that's the only thought that she can spare for the redhead at the moment, because Beca's tonguing the entrance to Aubrey's core, and Aubrey's hands are clenching tightly in Beca's hair, so Beca thrusts her tongue in and releases a profound moan when Aubrey's muscles clamp hard over the invading appendage, and the blonde's hips launch upward, forcing Beca's nose against her clit.

Aubrey gasps hard and Beca glances up, but the breath is literally winded from her lungs, because Aubrey's cheeks are so flushed they look like fire, and her hair is matting against her temples, clinging against the perspiration there. So Beca nudges her nose forward again, and Aubrey's head pitches to the left as she groans out something dark and fucking _primal_, but Beca thinks that's probably not helping anything at all, because that puts Chloe directly into Aubrey's line of sight. But Beca inches her tongue out again and brings one of her hands around to thrust three fingers inside of Aubrey without any introduction at all.

And Aubrey sobs out, "Fuck!" and it doesn't seem like it ever ends, because even when the word is gone, the sound keeps erupting from Aubrey's mouth.

And the fit is _so fucking tight_, but it works, because pushing Aubrey's limits is definitely Beca's objective, here, so Beca finds a fast pace and keeps it, and Aubrey wriggles like, fuck, Beca's amazing. And, yeah, Beca fucking _is_ amazing at this, she knows, and she's going to make fucking sure that Aubrey gets what she needs from it. So Beca thrashes her tongue against Aubrey's clit and times a particularly rough plunge inward as she suckles the nub of Aubrey's sex into her mouth, and Beca knows that Aubrey is almost there.

Because Aubrey's been building up to this _all night long_, and she's already watched Chloe _and_ Beca get off, so now it's _her fucking turn_.

And Beca gives it to her, offering two hard thrusts and a final brush of her tongue against Aubrey's clit, and Aubrey's whole body just _quakes _under Beca, and then Aubrey screams and Beca fucking _knows_ that she hears, "_Please_," crash off of those perfect pink lips as they fall apart.

Aubrey's entire frame curves upward, her hips launching from the bed, and the blonde completely stills for just one, long moment, before Aubrey's fingers loosen in Beca's hair, and a drawn out keen of release and exhaustion and freedom curls off of Aubrey's tongue. And Beca barely has time to wipe her mouth over her shoulder before Aubrey pulls her upward, tenderly repeating, "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," as she pleats frantic kisses across Beca's mouth, and cheeks, and her forehead, and neck.

But, okay, wow. Because Beca _knows_ Aubrey needed that, but Beca didn't understand until _right now_ exactly how much, because she has to filter her fingers through Aubrey's hair, and whisper, "It's okay," softly into the blonde's ear before Aubrey stops murmuring her appreciation and warms her forehead against Beca's, instead. And Aubrey's eyes are soft and warm and, God, so open, that Beca actually feels like she's drowning. So she says again, "It's okay," and slants a kiss over Aubrey's temple, looping her arms beneath the blonde's shoulders to hold Aubrey's quivering form tightly against her.

And a soft moan breaks their attention, so Aubrey looks over Beca's shoulder, and Beca does, too, just as Chloe's eyes start to water and her back arches up, and Chloe falls off some imaginary ledge of tension like a fucking eighteen-wheeler that's crashing into a wall, because it's that loud, and that breathtaking, and _that_ devastating.

And Beca thinks this moment is really important, because Aubrey Posen is totally fucking_ relaxed_, and Chloe Beale is actually _overwhelmed_ by her emotions, right now, and a tear is sneaking away from the corner of the redhead's eye, so Beca just sits, and she stares, and she takes a long minute to just marvel at them both.


	4. The Soothing Fall

A few long (should-be-awkward-but-somehow-aren't) moments pass before Beca realizes that she and Aubrey should move. So Beca gathers herself and slips Aubrey's fingers through her own, urging her up to the head of the bed where Chloe is resting. And Beca doesn't know how – because she kind of thinks that maybe Aubrey and Chloe should be together right now, since Beca really isn't good at this emotion thing, and she knows that those are running pretty high at the moment – but Beca ends up between them flat on her back, Chloe and Aubrey each curling against Beca's sides, and their hands lace together somewhere over Beca's left hip.

"You," Chloe whispers, dipping her head against Beca's chest before she shakes her red curls and starts over again. "You make us better, Becs."

And Aubrey quirks a sheepish little smile from her position on Beca's shoulder like, okay, maybe she's heard that before, and _maybe_ she didn't totally agree with it then, but she was wrong, and she totally believes it now.

"So," Beca quirks a smile of her own, but it's a little unsure and it wavers like Beca knows it really shouldn't, not now, so she clears her throat and tries again. "So this was… good, right?"

"Beca," Aubrey exhales softly, "this was so much more than… _anything else_," the blonde says, and Beca thinks that she should know what Aubrey means – and, alright, maybe she _does_ know – but Beca also thinks she really needs the explicit verbal confirmation that, yeah, this will happen again, and, yeah, they're still going to actually _date each other_, too.

Because, God, Beca knows she really can't give them up now.

"It was more than we expected," Chloe shares when Aubrey fails to explain, tightening her and Aubrey's fingers over Beca's waist so that Beca can feel the pressure of their joined embrace. "And better," Chloe adds with a tiny, playful giggle, and Aubrey tucks a kiss over Beca's heart and hums her consensus, so Beca swallows, because this is nice – like, _really fucking nice_ – but Beca still needs the words, and they haven't come yet. "And – " Chloe tries to say more, shifting up to look into Beca's eyes, but Beca thinks Chloe sees something there that she doesn't like, because Chloe frowns and cuts herself off, completely changing course.

"I love you, Beca," Chloe whispers quietly, and covers Beca's mouth with a kiss to corroborate her affection.

And, okay, maybe _that_ was what Beca needed to hear more than anything else, because she feels like something heavy just rolled off her shoulders that Beca hadn't even known she was carrying.

"Hey," Aubrey scowls, and prods her finger into Chloe's side. "No fair," the blonde pouts, and Beca just swoons, because, alright, yeah, that's probably one of the cutest fucking things that Beca's ever seen. "I love you, too, Mitchell," Aubrey announces defiantly. "I just…" Aubrey sighs out of breath of air, "can't really move to kiss you right now, okay?"

And Beca just laughs, free and open like she actually hasn't heard herself do in years, and she shuffles a mildly disgruntled Chloe around for a second so that she can hover over Aubrey's face. "It's cool, Posen," Beca smirks. "I've got this," she declares, and lowers her mouth to Aubrey's for a kiss that's soft and sweet and totally different from the desperate ones they shared before, but Beca thinks it's just as good.

Then Beca pulls away and shifts back so that Chloe can throw herself across Beca again, and the redhead smacks a damp, happy kiss against Beca's cheek on her way down.

And Aubrey murmurs against Beca's shoulder, "This is aca-fabulous."

"Totes," Chloe agrees cheerily, but Beca can hear the sleepy exhaustion that's creeping over them both, and she wants to smile a little bit, because, yeah, they're fucking adorable.

But Beca scoffs anyway, and rolls her eyes. "Do either of you even _know_ how to speak English? Because this is pretty embarrassing."

And Aubrey's apparently worked up at least a little energy, because she somehow scrounges up enough of it to raise her head and nip chidingly at Beca's collar while Chloe giggles again and pokes Beca in the stomach.

"No, dude, seriously!" Beca argues, laughing. "Half of your vocabulary isn't even in the dictionary!"

"Just go to sleep, Mitchell," Aubrey says, and maybe there would normally be vexation jumbled in there somewhere, but right now it sounds fond and loving and lots of other things that make Beca's insides tighten, because, yeah, this _is_ actually happening, and it's fucking incredible.

"Fine," Beca sulks, because she isn't really ready yet, and she kind of wants to enjoy this for a little longer (forever wouldn't be so bad, Beca thinks), but, yeah, Beca's tired, too.

So she doesn't say anything when both of her bedmates slip their eyes shut, even though Chloe's cheek is still nuzzling against the rise of Beca's breast. But when Beca tries to close her eyes, too, she thinks, _wait_.

"Wait," Beca voices the thought, and Chloe frowns before she opens her eyes, while Aubrey refuses to do so, but inquisitively raises her brows above her closed lids, anyway. "So," Beca starts, and her fingers tangle through blonde and red alike as she nervously asks, "when I wake up – "

And Beca can all but see Aubrey's eyes roll, even though they never crack apart, as the blonde interrupts, "We're having breakfast."

"And we're staying here," Chloe purrs, "_all day long_, until me and Bree – "

"Bree and I," Aubrey corrects absently, like she can't even fucking help it, and Beca snorts before she turns back to let Chloe finish.

"Until _Bree and I,_" Chloe stresses, throwing Beca a look that twitches with amused exasperation, "take you out for dinner."

"And we're going to talk rules," Aubrey adds.

"Rules?" Beca inquires. "Rules for what?"

"This," Aubrey says, waggling her fingers over at Chloe and Beca. "Us."

"Seriously?" Beca deadpans.

"Oh my God, I'm never getting to sleep," Aubrey groans, burrowing her head further into Beca's neck.

"Bree thinks we should have rules," Chloe tells Beca. "About, like, how this works."

"Like _what_?" Beca demands incredulously. "I love you both, you both love me, and you both love each other. That's how it works. Right?"

Beca knows she's right.

But of course Aubrey disagrees, because, okay, Aubrey pretty much _always_ disagrees with Beca. "I want to make sure that nobody feels excluded. Ever," Aubrey adds, and her eyes finally part to emphasize the gravity behind it.

And, okay, maybe Beca was wrong, because, yeah, that's a good fucking point, especially since Chloe and Aubrey have been together for so much longer.

"Bree thinks we'll fight if one of us gets to spend more time with you," Chloe discloses to Beca quietly, like maybe she thinks that's a risk, too, but is kind of reluctant to say so out loud.

But, "Me?" Beca laughs skeptically. "Seriously?" She asks again.

And Chloe frowns like she doesn't get it, but Aubrey smiles sadly like she _does_, because, yeah, she's picking Beca's words apart again, and Beca thinks Aubrey knows that Beca a little bit can't believe that _she_ could possibly be a point of contention between them.

"Chloe and I have been together for over a year now," Aubrey says softly, "and aside from little things here and there, we don't really argue. But we both _really _love you, Beca. And… those months when Chloe was going to your dorm to see you, while I only got to see you at practice… They were really hard for us. And Chloe and I… we fought, sometimes."

Beca watches Chloe's fingers pale over top of Aubrey's as she squeezes and offers Aubrey a little, comforting smile, and, no more than a second later, Beca sees Aubrey's fingers squeeze back.

"So, yes, we think it's a good idea to make sure that our time spent paired off in couples is limited. And, obviously we'll need it sometimes, but, like I said," Aubrey rolls her shoulders, "limited. And I know you're probably worried about that, too," Aubrey finishes knowingly, looking up at Beca with kind eyes and that sad smile makes another appearance.

"I guess," Beca hedges in reply. "I mean, yeah, it's like you said, Bree – you and Chloe have been together for over a year, and I'm just kind of… here. Like, you guys live together – "

"Well, you could live here, too," Chloe brightens with the suggestion, but Beca sighs and trades a look with Aubrey, because, okay, that's a big leap into things for Beca, but she knows that, as far as the redhead is concerned, Chloe's living space can be shared with anyone she chooses. And Chloe chooses Aubrey and Beca.

"It's not that I don't want to, Chlo," Beca says carefully, because she's trying really, really hard not to hurt Chloe's feelings, here, "but… this is new for me. And, yeah, I love you both. _So much_," Beca adds, because she means it, and needs them both to understand that. "But it's probably better to make sure that we all… _work_ together before we make any decisions like that."

"Beca's right, Chloe," Aubrey agrees, and Beca startles a little from the words, and Chloe startles, too, because, okay, while they definitely argue less, Beca and Aubrey rarely actually _verbally_ agree on anything – mostly on principle – so this is kind of new. "Obviously Beca can come here whenever she wants," Aubrey starts, and lifts her chin to look at Beca, "and obviously we'd both _love_ to have you here – often," Aubrey bites her lip while she smiles, and Beca thinks that she's just numbingly sweet, "but it wouldn't be right for Beca to completely uproot her living situation right away before we've even taken her on a real date, Chlo."

"Okay," Beca huffs, because she refrained from saying so before, but that idea isn't entirely sitting well with her, even if she does flutter a little from the idea of it, "I get to take you guys out, too. You kind of sprung this on me, so I get it, and, okay, you can totally take me out on a date and I'll be gracious and whatever, but – "

"_You?_" Aubrey snorts. "Gracious?"

"Shut it, Posen, I'm doing a thing here," Beca scoffs in reply, and tightens her fingers over Aubrey's shoulder to take out any of the could-be-interpreted sting before she presses onward. "I'm just saying that I'm in this now, too," Beca says, "and I don't expect you guys to do more for me than I'm allowed to do for you. So if you guys get to take me out, I get to take you out, too," she finishes staunchly.

"Aww," Chloe coos, and Beca scowls.

"Okay, seriously, Beale – new rule. That," Beca flutters her fingers to indicate the noise that just erupted from Chloe's mouth, "isn't allowed."

"She's Chloe," Aubrey rolls her eyes mirthfully. "She can't actually _help it_, Beca."

"Whatever. Oh, and also, back to this living situation thing – " Because, alright, maybe she hadn't been totally on board with the _concept_ of rules, but she had a few she'd like to apply now that they're laying down the groundwork.

"It's okay," Chloe nods, even if she sounds a little put off by it. "I mean, I'd like you to be here. Like, all the time, permanently. _We_ would like you here," she pauses, and waits for Aubrey to nod her confirmation. "But I get that you haven't had the time to adjust to this like we have. And we probably _should_ spend some more time together as a threesome before we take that step," Chloe admits reluctantly.

"Thanks," Beca nods, because Chloe has this endearing and frustrating (for Beca, who tends to act on her emotions _last_) tendency to think purely with her heart, so she knows that it's taking a lot for Chloe to mull over this and process it from Beca's point of view. "But," she continues, smirking a little, because, actually, that wasn't what she was going to say at all, "I was actually going to bring up that it might be okay to revisit the subject at the end of the school year."

But Beca catches Aubrey and Chloe exchanging a panicked look over top of her, so Beca frowns, and fidgets anxiously when neither of them actually _says_ anything about it.

"What? What did I do?" Beca asks timidly.

"Nothing," Chloe replies quickly, but Beca knows she doesn't totally mean that, because the ginger's eyes are shifting around the room without ever finding focus, and she won't catch Beca's gaze even though Beca _knows_ that Chloe knows she's looking at her.

"It's just…" Aubrey begins slowly, "we know that you have plans for LA…" she trails off, and her breath hitches like maybe she had more to say, but she can't actually bring her lungs to cooperate long enough to voice it.

"But I'm not going to LA," Beca frowns.

"What?" Aubrey and Chloe simultaneously demand, and Beca reels her neck back from the force of their exclamations echoing in her ears.

"Chloe," Beca's brows furrow as she looks between them, "I told you that."

Beca's seriously confused, because she definitely has a very distinct memory of telling Chloe that she and the rest of the Bellas meant too much to Beca for her to leave them behind. And Beca remembers it vividly, because she'd been pretty tense about bringing the subject up at all, and it had taken a lot of work for Beca to confess it.

"What?" Chloe demands again, frantically repositioning to sit up and face Beca, folding her legs beneath her. "_When?_"

"Like, _months _ago!" Beca replies defensively. "We were sitting in my room right after the riff-off, and I told you that I wanted to stay at Barden!"

Aubrey snorts and Chloe burns bright red, but, actually, Beca's pretty sure that a blush is creeping up Aubrey's neck, too, and neither of those things are really helping to ease Beca's confusion at all.

"Of _course_ you would miss something that important because of the riff-off, Chloe," Aubrey reprimands.

"What_ever_!" Chloe retorts. "Like you were any better off," she throws a pointed look in Aubrey's direction.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Beca asks helplessly, because she is _so_ not up-to-date on this one, and she needs one of them to clue her in.

"You rapped at the riff-off," Aubrey mutters, but Beca has to strain to hear her, because it's barely a mumble to begin with, and the fact that Aubrey's hiding her face against Beca's shoulder is really only serving to further muffle it.

"Yeah," Beca agrees slowly. "So?" She inquires expectantly.

"Beca, you were so _into it_," Chloe whispers, and Beca thought they'd calmed this lust thing not too long ago, but she's pretty sure that there's a little bit of it sneaking into Chloe's eyes again, anyway, even though Beca _knows_ they're all too exhausted for more. "And your voice…" Chloe trails off dazedly.

"Your voice does… crazy things to us, Mitchell," Aubrey informs reluctantly. "So, we were both a little… _distracted_ after the riff-off, okay?"

But Beca's amused now, so she chuckles and shakes her head. "So, what, you missed that I didn't plan to go to LA anymore because you were all hot and bothered by my totally awesome rapping skills?" She probes cockily, and huffs a little when Aubrey pinches her side in reprimand.

"Pretty much," Chloe says sheepishly. "I was a little more focused on getting back to Aubrey to… well, you know, and I wasn't actually sure that I could spend all that much time with you alone in your dorm before I did something stupid like attack you with my tongue."

And Beca shuffles a little, because, okay, that definitely doesn't sound so bad. But she clears her throat, and puts an end to the issue by revisiting the previous one. "Okay, so, I'm not going to LA. But… you guys are graduating," Beca says softly, and, okay, she'd probably even verbally admit that, yeah, she sounds fucking miserable about it.

"And staying here for grad school," Aubrey assures quickly.

"Seriously? No, wait," and Beca grins, wide and dopey like she's on fucking drugs or something, but repeats, "_Seriously?_ Because that'd be fucking amazing."

"Seriously," Chloe giggles.

Aubrey smiles something loving and sweet up at Beca before she says gently, "Chloe and I spent a long time making ourselves at home here, and we agreed a while ago that we weren't ready to leave, yet. And you being here just… solidified our decision."

"Wait," Beca frowns, swiveling her head between the two, "no. You can't make this decision because of _me_. Are you serious? I mean, you're going to be a doctor, Chlo. And you're going to be a lawyer," she says to Aubrey, "and you're both going to be crazy successful and super smart with giant brains that will, like, take over the fucking world or something," Beca rambles, and huffs. "You can't just stay here because it's where I am. I don't want that. I don't want to keep either of you from being those things."

"Aww," Chloe coos again, and her eyes are teary and a little red, so Beca can't actually _say_ anything about it, but she expresses her disapproval through a scowl that she pitches in the redhead's direction.

"It's really sweet of you to say that, Beca," Aubrey bites her lip and looks up at her adoringly, and Beca feels a lot like they're both loving her right now, even if they aren't saying it, and, okay, it's a really good fucking feeling, but Beca rolls her eyes, because, _dude_, they're making this _so much sappier_ than it was intended. "But, like I said, we'd already decided to stay here," Aubrey reminds. "It's… where we met," she says quietly, and Chloe turns that watery, affectionate gaze on Aubrey, now. "It's where we fit," Aubrey tries to explain. "And, yes, eventually we'll have to leave and find that fit somewhere else," Aubrey sighs, "but we don't _have_ to do that, yet. And we don't want to."

"Okay," Beca nods slowly, and tightens her arm around Aubrey's shoulder to somehow bring her closer, because Beca knows how Aubrey's struggled with 'fitting in' in the past, and she can hear in Aubrey's voice that the idea of leaving her BU comfort zone is actually kind of terrifying to the blonde. "Okay," Beca repeats. "So you guys are staying. And I'm staying, too," Beca says softly. "So, like I said before – maybe we can revisit the living situation after the school year is up."

"That's only a few months away," Aubrey points out softly.

Chloe reaches over to pinch Aubrey's thigh, and Aubrey glowers at her and says, "Ow," but Chloe glares down at her steadily for the implied suggestion that a few months might be too soon and she doesn't back down, so Beca raises her brows and grins at Aubrey like, okay, you _have_ to know you can't win a stare-down once Chloe decides to engage you in one.

"So it's a few months," Beca shrugs when Aubrey finally breaks away from Chloe's gaze and concedes defeat. "Look, okay, I know I denied that we were dating before this," she says, and when Aubrey smirks up at her like she's fucking won something from Beca's confession, Beca stubbornly adds, "and I maintain that position – but that doesn't mean that I don't _know _you. I know both of you," Beca says somberly, and she means it, too, because she _does _know them; there may be a (pretty significant) change occurring in the dynamic of their relationship right now, but Beca _knows_ Chloe and Aubrey. She knows how they work and how they feel and act and _think_, and Beca rarely lets herself know anyone that way, so this is important. "And if, in a few months, we still work – all of us, together – then I don't really see why living together would be a bad thing. If anything, I feel like it will be better for us, and it'll be easier to work out that… limited couple rule that you were talking about, Aubrey."

Chloe licks her lips and stalls, which is a habit that Beca's now vowing to herself that she _will not_ pick up from them, but the redhead eventually asks, "But… won't you be upset that Aubrey and I will be spending time together here without you?"

"Honestly?" Beca asks, and she isn't licking her lips, no, but she's stalling a little, too, because, okay, that's a valid concern, and one that Beca wouldn't put past herself. "I might," she admits, but tries to work through her thoughts so that she can express the important ones. "I might feel a little bummed out that you guys get to go home to each other, and I can't, sometimes. But if we're all… _together_, then I think it'd be okay. I mean, I can just come over when I feel that way, right?" She asks uneasily, because, yeah, she needs them to verify that that's okay.

"Of course you can, Beca," Aubrey soothes warmly, and draws her fingers over Beca's stomach to circle her waist and latch onto her opposite hip.

"Yeah, of course," Chloe echoes, bending low to stretch a kiss over Beca's mouth, settling back in at Beca's side a moment later like she's just remembered, _oh yeah, I'm supposed to be here_, and snuggling in like Beca's her favorite stuffed animal.

"Then, I mean, it's probably better that I stay in the dorms for a while," Beca says, nodding. "It's going to take some adjusting to get used to this whole thing anyway," Beca says sensibly. "I mean, I'm pretty not used to… _any_ relationships," she says, and Aubrey's fingers tighten again to say, yeah, we know, but we love you anyway, so Beca curves her neck and brushes a kiss over the top of her blonde head, and Aubrey smiles, content and happy, and Beca's happy, too, because she put that smile there. "Plus, I mean, I know you guys love me and all," she rushes to say, "but you guys are used to being together, just the two of you. So easing into it will probably make the adjusting part easier for all of us. You know, for me to get used to being with you guys, and for you guys to get used to having me around."

"Alright," Aubrey nods. "We just… want to make sure that you know we _want_ you around, Beca."

"And that you can seriously come over any time you want to," Chloe adds. "Because… you make us better," Chloe repeats her earlier proclamation. "We're all better when we're together. Aubrey's calmer, and I'm just so _happy_ around you both, and even you aren't so grumpy when you're with us, Becs," Chloe chirps, like that somehow isn't insulting.

Because – "I'm not grumpy," Beca frowns. "I'm… guarded."

Aubrey snorts. "Well, whatever you want to call it, there's less of it with us."

"_Now_," Beca asserts, because, okay, she was pretty sure that she'd definitely been grumpy around them both recently, because the realization that she couldn't have them had hit Beca pretty fucking hard, and it hurt. Like, a _lot. _And it was a feeling that had basically been set to repeat every time Beca so much as caught sight of them on campus.

"We're – " Aubrey chokes now, abruptly devastated, and Beca doesn't understand, so she looks down with concern, and waits for Aubrey to keep going. "We're really sorry about the last few weeks, Beca. It – I know it was really hard for you to be around us feeling the way that you did, and knowing that we were together."

_Oh_, Beca thinks, because, yeah, she gets it now. "Yeah," Beca rasps. "Yeah, that sucked. That sucked a lot."

"Beca," Chloe bites her lip, and now her eyes are teary (again), too, so Beca knows she has to do something about this, because they're sad, and Beca didn't mean to, but she'd kind of made them this way, "we _hate_ that we hurt you. It's just that… for a long time, I just assumed that you _knew_ Aubrey and I were together because everyone else knew. And I didn't even realize that you didn't know until I'd just kind of blurted it out when I asked if you could show Aubrey your mixes, and you just _froze_, Becs. And – and I think it kind of broke you."

"Yeah," Beca swallows, and she'd planned to say more, but then Chloe cut her off.

"_God_, Beca, we were already so in love with you by that point that I didn't even think it was possible that you couldn't know it," Chloe breathes. "I was all over you, like, _all the time_, and Aubrey was smiley and happy and slapping your ass all through cardio."

Beca snorts and smirks down at Aubrey, like, _fuck no, that didn't go unnoticed, Posen_, so Aubrey flushes a little and mumbles, "I like your ass. Sue me, Mitchell."

Chloe beams brilliantly for a second, before she resumes, "I just… Since I thought you knew that we were together, I thought you'd pick up on the fact that we were definitely both flirting with you, and that it definitely _meant_ something."

Oh. "Should I have picked up on that?" Beca asks playfully, because this somberness was kind of killing her when all she really wanted to focus on was the airy warmth of just _being_ with Aubrey and Chloe. "Because, you know, I was pretty sure I was respecting your relationship by _ignoring_ you both."

"Yeah, but we didn't _want_ you to ignore us," Chloe pouts.

Beca chuckles and buries her nose in warm, red curls, because, yeah, she knows that _now_, but she's pretty sure there's no fucking way she could've guessed that before tonight.

"It just… set us back a few of steps when you found out," Aubrey says. "Because you obviously weren't as receptive to Chloe's… _affections _once you found out that we were involved. So we tried to have you over so that we could talk to you about it, but it took another fucking month before we could actually _get you here,_" Aubrey huffs, and Beca does, too, because, _seriously?_ Could they blame her for not wanting to be here when her chest ached every time she was with them? "So we couldn't talk to you about it, and we just had to watch you fall apart," Aubrey whispers, and her voice is soft and sad and a little heartbroken, so Beca sighs.

"It doesn't matter," Beca decides. "I mean, obviously it _matters_, because it lasted a while and it totally sucked – but it doesn't matter anymore, because it's not like you guys meant to do it. And, seriously, there probably isn't a sanctioned way to start up a three-way relationship, so don't beat yourselves up over it," Beca shrugs. "I doubt it was easy for you guys to figure out how to do it, either."

"That was… difficult," Aubrey laughs lightly.

"Bree and I disagreed about the approach," Chloe laments. "And Bree won."

"Because _your_ method basically involved tackling her in the shower, for the _second_ time," Aubrey says pointedly, "and I'm pretty sure that Beca would've thought it was a prank or something and would never have spoken to either of us ever again," Aubrey rants heatedly, like the idea of Beca never talking to them again actually _pains_ her (which makes Beca's insides flutter a little), but Beca's cheeks flush red, because, okay, Aubrey's probably not wrong.

"Uh… _yeah_," Beca agrees hesitantly. "Seriously, Chlo? Okay, our shower encounter was… I mean, definitely unforgettable, at least… But I definitely started carrying my rape whistle around in my shower caddy, so… _yeah_. Aubrey definitely wins that one."

Chloe pouts again, so Aubrey chuckles warmly and leans across Beca to whisper a kiss over the ginger's cheek. And Chloe grins like she totally forgets why she was pouting to begin with, so the corner of Beca's mouth quirks into a smile (because Chloe's totally fucking adorable) and Beca decides not to remind her. But then Beca bites her lip to stifle a yawn, because, okay, yeah – it's been a really, really long night, and Beca's tired.

So she's glad when Aubrey announces, "Okay, I think we've covered most of our bases, for now. We can discuss details tomorrow. Let's get some sleep, ladies."

And Beca thinks Aubrey sounds a lot like she's dismissing them from rehearsal, so she tucks her lip between her teeth again to bite back a teasing remark, and instead agrees, "Yeah, I'm fucking beat."

"Mm," Chloe purrs against Beca's neck. "Me too."

But, "I need a blanket," Beca tells them. Because she actually does. "I can't sleep unless I have a blanket."

"Oh my God, seriously?" Aubrey asks incredulously. "We're all hot and sweaty, and Chloe cuddles so hardcore she's practically our own personal space heater, Mitchell."

Chloe shrugs carelessly like,_ no one ever raised her differently, so how the hell should she have learned to stop cuddling up to strangers after the age of five?_

"Dude, I don't care," Beca answers with a frown. "I need it to cover my shoulders or whatever. It's a thing."

"Get over it," Aubrey orders, and bites down on Beca's shoulder.

"I _can't_," Beca replies, even though, okay, that bite kind of hurt a little, and Beca idly thinks that with all of the biting that's been traded between them tonight, they're all going to look like they've gone ten fucking rounds with The Rock once morning rolls around. "I need a blanket to sleep. I told you – it's a thing," Beca recounts, mildly irritated.

"Oh my God, you're both adorable," Chloe giggles. "Bree, sweetie, just let Beca have the sheet, okay?"

"Yeah, Bree," Beca nods, "relationships are all about compromise, right?" And, okay, so maybe Beca smirks a little, but the trait is pretty much ingrained in her genetic code or whatever, so she can't actually help it. And, plus, Chloe's on her side, so that means Beca fucking wins by default, right?

Aubrey huffs and rolls over, facing the wall instead of Beca and Chloe. "I hate you both," she declares blankly.

So Beca raises her brows at an amused and besotted Chloe, and waits for the redhead to shift away a little before Beca turns over, too, and brushes her lips over Aubrey's temple.

"I love you, Posen," she whispers softly, and Beca's face is solemn, now, with an affectionate little smile that Beca can't even fucking help, because, yeah, she does love her. Beca loves them both.

But Aubrey's sulking now, and just puffs out an aggravated breath of air in reply, so Beca shakes her head fondly and decides to let the blonde keep doing it – because okay, yeah, Aubrey's pretty fucking cute when she sulks, but Beca has enough integrity (even if it feels like its wavering a little right now) not to apologize. Because Beca really _does_ need it to sleep, and Aubrey's just being stubborn. So Beca's totally right this time.

So Beca shifts to gather the folded, but rumpled layer of material from the foot of the bed, curls up to spoon around a contently humming Chloe, and brings the sheet around her shoulders. But Beca hears Aubrey sigh no more than ten seconds later, and feels the blonde rustle around for a moment before Aubrey flips back around and slings her arm around Beca's waist.

"You know I love you," Aubrey says haughtily, like, okay, she won't be sweet about it, and she isn't happy about the sheet (or about losing out on the argument, either – but mostly the argument, Beca thinks), but she can't _not_ say it back, which is kind of sweet anyway, so Beca smiles.

"You too, Chlo," Beca says, tenderly folding her mouth over Chloe's shoulder.

But Chloe chirps back, bright and warm, even though she's just as exhausted as Aubrey and Beca are, "I love you both so much I think I might die, sometimes. And now I'm sleepy, so go to bed."

And Beca chuckles, and Aubrey does, too, tucking her cheek over top of Beca's and hugging her close until Aubrey's breasts settle comfortably against Beca's back, so Beca nuzzles her nose into Chloe's strawberry hair and releases a happy little sigh.

Because, okay, rolling with the punches was the fucking best idea Beca's ever had. And it was totally worth all of the vulnerabilities and insecurities and humiliations that she'd suffered along the way, because it got her to Aubrey and Chloe.

And, okay, so it's beyond weird. It's fucked, and totally insane, but… mostly it's incredible. And Beca can't help it, anyway.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ The fifth chapter isn't happening, guys. I tried, but it'd take some work to get it to fit together after this one, and my dad had a heart attack this morning, so I can't find the motivation to write it. (He's fine, so no freak-outs allowed, but I think it definitely has my emotions paralyzed for the moment.) But, hey, this is the first fic I've ever actually finished, _and_ it's my first venture into the Pitch Perfect-verse, so throw some reviews my way and let me know what you thought, okay? Thanks, guys. I hope you enjoyed it.

_xx RavenclawGenius_


	5. The Miserable Resolution

Three months later, and Beca is miserable.

Okay, maybe not _totally_ miserable, because her life is actually pretty fucking fantastic right now. Like, she has Chloe and Aubrey. Life can't really give Beca anything better than that.

Beca's pretty sure that there isn't a movie in cinematic history that even begins to capture the kind of relationship that she has with Aubrey and Chloe. She could probably ask Jesse to confirm that for her, but that would involve _telling_ Jesse about it, which they've collectively decided to shy away from doing right now.

Because, okay, most of the time Beca doesn't even think about it. None of them do, really. Her relationship with Chloe and Aubrey just kind of _is_. And it's perfect for them. But when Beca does slow down and take a minute to consider it, yeah, they all know it definitely falls outside of the societal norm.

But it's perfect. And they have plans to tell the Bellas right after Aubrey and Chloe graduate, during what Beca thinks is likely to be the wildest rage in Bella _history_, if Chloe has anything to say about it.

So, no, Beca isn't totally miserable. But, right at this very moment in time, Beca forgets that. Because she _feels_ miserable.

She hadn't gotten to sleep until late the night before, which was mildly irritating in itself, but what had been way more irritating about it was the fact that Beca knew Aubrey and Chloe had the last of their finals in the morning. So, okay, as much as Beca wanted to shove her shiny new key (not-so-new, actually, since they'd given it to her pretty much a week into this whole arrangement) into the lock of their apartment door and crawl into bed with them, she really didn't want to wake them. Beca knew they needed their rest, and she wasn't about to interrupt it.

So she'd walked from the radio station to her dorm, damning Jesse the entire way for conning her into taking his late-night shift, and had been drenched by the torrential downpour of rain that Beca was pretty sure Aubrey would have warned her about if the weatherman had ever actually fucking called for it. And Beca had been grumpy and sodden once she finally arrived at her destination, so she'd dragged her feet into the shower, ignoring Kimmy Jin's death glare when she eventually made it back to her room, and Beca collapsed on top of her bed.

And, okay, Beca would probably have woken up and forgotten all about it in her eagerness to track down her girlfriends and ask about their exams. She would probably have definitely done that, if she hadn't woken up to an ache that stretched all the way into her bones and a pounding in her head that foretold that Beca was about to have a _really_ sucky day.

So Beca groans out a dissatisfied noise and raises her throbbing head to check the clock, and she notes (without caring, even a little) that it's a little past noon. But, okay, even though classes are finished, Beca still has things to do today. And she's pretty sure that she has rehearsal in a couple hours for some end-of-the-year frat party that Beca seriously wishes Aubrey hadn't agreed to let the Bellas perform at, right now.

Seriously. Like, Beca totally loves those girls, and she's been really happy about the extra time she's gotten to spend with them post all of the ICCA madness. But Beca really just wants to sleep some more.

So she sets her alarm with the intent to lie down for another hour before practice.

But a soft knocking at her door rouses her from the bed forty minutes later, and, even though Beca totally wants to ignore it, she thinks she probably knows who's at the other side of that fucking door. So Beca blinks away some of her grogginess and forces herself to move toward it, snatching up a hoody that she's pretty sure belongs to Chloe on the way – because Beca's fucking _freezing_ right now – and after she tugs the material of the sweatshirt down to cover her abdomen, Beca curls her fingers around the knob and widens the door.

And, okay, yeah, Beca totally _knew_ that Aubrey and Chloe would be there, but the corner of her mouth twitches upward when she sees them, anyway. Because she actually can't help it.

"Hi," Beca rasps out, and she immediately winces, because not all of that rasp was due to drowsiness. Beca hadn't really gotten past the hurt in her head and body long enough to realize it, but her throat is definitely sore, and she can hear in the nasally sound of her voice that her nose is definitely stopped up, too.

"We came to check on you," Aubrey frowns, "because you weren't replying to our texts or calls. We were a little worried about you."

"And right to be," Chloe murmurs softly. "Oh, Becs," she sighs, "you look terrible."

"Way to kill my ego, Beale," Beca replies dryly, but she allows Chloe to cradle her in a hug anyway, and tucks her cheek against the redhead's shoulder.

Because, okay, Beca will deny it under the pain of death, but she gets embarrassingly affectionate when she's sick.

"You were fine yesterday," Aubrey says, and her frown deepens as she pushes herself into the room, setting her purse at the end of Beca's bed before she perches herself atop it. "What happened to you?"

Beca shrugs, and replies dully, "I got rained on."

"You were out in that storm last night?" Chloe cries worriedly, pulling herself away from Beca just enough so that she can lock onto Beca's eyes while she hugs warm fingers around the base of Beca's neck.

"Beca, why?" Aubrey asks desperately.

"It's not like I did it on purpose," Beca grumbles defensively, taking Chloe's hand and tugging her onto the mattress, too, where Beca promptly flings herself down to lower her calves over Aubrey's lap and plop her head into Chloe's. "I was on my way back from the station and the sky just started _weeping_ on me," she finishes dejectedly, nuzzling her cheek against Chloe's thigh.

Aubrey sighs and Beca hums softly when she feels the blonde's fingers reach up to tighten against Beca's uncovered legs. "You have your gig tonight," Aubrey reminds her gently, her fingertips dancing some intricate pattern beneath the bend of Beca's knee that makes Beca shiver a little. Because, yeah, Beca's still really fucking cold, and the heat from Aubrey's touch is bringing around a contrast that definitely reminds Beca that she needs some more fucking clothes. "Now is a really bad time for you to get sick, Beca."

"I _know_ that," Beca huffs hoarsely.

And she does. Because, okay, no, this isn't Beca's first gig. Luke had somehow wrangled Beca several DJ slots at The Garage over the past few weeks, and this is her fourth one this month. But she's still new enough that not showing up just isn't even an option that she has available to consider. Beca _has_ to go.

"At least you're done with finals," Chloe coos sympathetically, carding her fingers through Beca's hair.

And Beca leans her head into the touch like a fucking kitten, practically _purring_ like one, too, and she attempts a weak scowl in Aubrey's direction when the blonde's expression softens to express the "aww" that Chloe has no problem giving voice to.

"Shut up," Beca grouses.

Chloe giggles warmly and lowers herself (somewhat awkwardly, from her position) to fold a tender kiss over Beca's temple.

"We have to get to rehearsal soon," Aubrey points out reluctantly.

"Okay," Beca nods, reaching over to flip the alarm off and moving to stand.

But Aubrey glares and circles her arms around Beca's shins, keeping them firmly lodged against her lap, before she demands, "What the hell are you doing?"

Beca's brows furrow. "Going… to practice?" She tries, but it's more a question than anything else, because, dude, Aubrey _just said_ that it's time to get going. Right?

"Absolutely not," Chloe denies, shaking her head fiercely.

"You're not going anywhere, Mitchell," Aubrey decrees strictly. "You're going to lay down in this bed and get some rest before we go to the club tonight."

"Dude, no!" Beca argues, urging herself to sit up, and she feels Chloe scoot closer so that Beca's back presses against her chest, the redhead's palms coming to rest over Beca's stomach.

"Dude, yes," Chloe retorts, her chin settling over Beca's shoulder.

"You can come to rehearsal in the morning, if you're feeling better," Aubrey decides. "But, Jesus, Beca, you're practically _radiating_ heat right now, and you obviously feel like shit," she says (ever so tactfully, as usual, Beca snorts to herself). "You won't be any good to us there, anyways, so there's no reason at all for you to put yourself through that when you feel this badly."

Beca frowns. Because, okay, she can see what they're saying, and maybe they're even right – even if Beca staunchly refuses to say so – but, "You guys have two practices left before graduation, and then the party tomorrow night. I don't want to miss them. I want to be there, with you."

Chloe strokes her nose up the length of Beca's cheek, and she can all but _feel_ the teary smile that accompanies it when she whispers softly, "And we love that you want to be there with us for our last Bella moments. But, Becs, we just want you to focus on getting better right now. So Bree and I promise to let you come tomorrow, as long as you skip out on today's practice and _sleep_, okay?"

And, alright, that does sound okay to Beca. But she knows how this works, so she turns to Aubrey and raises her brows like, _so? Do we have a deal, or what, Posen?_

Aubrey sighs exasperatedly and nods her head. "Fine. But if you're not feeling any better, you can't participate at practice," she negotiates. And Beca opens her mouth to protest that stipulation, but Aubrey intercedes, "We'll let you perform with us at the Beta house, but if you're still sick, you'll have to save your energy for the actual event, alright?"

"Fine," Beca agrees gloomily.

"Okay," Aubrey nods, and lifts Beca's legs out of her lap, carefully repositioning them back on the bed once she's shuffled herself from beneath Beca's weight.

Chloe stands up, too, and Beca's pretty sure that she's pouting now as she scrambles beneath the blankets, curling up on her side to watch them leave and tucking the comforter beneath her chin.

"We love you, Becs," Chloe murmurs, and her eyes look a little conflicted, like maybe she's second-guessing their decision to confine Beca to bed rest. Or maybe like she wants to stay behind, too.

"I know," Beca sighs. Because she does. There hasn't really been a single moment of the last three months where Beca _hasn't_ known that they love her. "I love you, too," she echoes with a weak smile.

Aubrey shifts to Beca's bedside and flutters her fingers delicately against Beca's temple, tracing a gentle path downward until Beca's jaw is framed in her palm. The blonde leans down and ghosts a kiss that catches against the corner of Beca's mouth. "Get some rest, okay?"

"Okay," Beca agrees. And, really, she's fucking exhausted right now, so she doesn't think that'll take much work, like, at _all_.

But when they reach the door, Beca calls out, "Wait!" And her voice croaks a little (okay, maybe a lot), and she scowls at the strain that the cry put on her throat. But she's successful, because they both halt in their tracks and turn around to face her.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asks, eagerly shifting forward to brush a soothing hand over Beca's shoulder.

"Nothing," Beca assures quickly. "I just… forgot to ask how your exams went," she says sheepishly.

Aubrey grins and shakes her head. "Beca, you have other things to worry about right now," she says, but when Beca's face drops to a frown, Aubrey adds, "but we did fine."

"Aubrey aced hers," Chloe says confidently. "I was a little thrown off on the last essay question, but other than that, I think I did okay, too."

"Good," Beca nods. "I'm really proud of you both, you know," she says quietly, and she's pretty sure it's barely a whisper, but, damn it, her throat hurts. And, okay, so maybe saying things like that isn't exactly Beca's strong point. But she really is proud of them, and she kind of wants them to know it.

"Thank you," Aubrey says warmly, and Beca can tell she really means it. Because she knows that the phrase is one that Aubrey strives to hear, because she's never really heard it enough from the people who actually matter.

"You're the sweetest, Becs," Chloe beams, and lowers a kiss over Beca's cheek. "Feel better, okay? We'll be back soon."

So Beca nods again, and when they leave, she burrows into her bed for some seriously needed sleep.

* * *

Beca can't even bring herself to be a little bit surprised when Chloe clambers over the center console and into the back seat after a particularly rough cough escapes from somewhere deep inside Beca's chest. And she isn't surprised when Aubrey scolds Chloe for doing it at the next red light, either.

But, okay, Beca doesn't really care. Because Chloe encourages her to curl her knees up, and she gently threads her fingers through the strands of Beca's hair until Beca covers her head over Chloe's heart, and she dozes in and out of some kind of daze until they pull into the parking lot.

Beca sighs when they arrive, but, okay, she _is_ kind of surprised when Chloe winks at her and slips a small cup of cough syrup into Beca's palm while Aubrey's fiddling in her purse for her wallet.

Beca raises her brows, because she knows the cough syrup is some left over from a cold that Chloe picked up, like, six months ago, and she also knows it has a little splash of codeine in it, and that even if Beca kind of needs it, Aubrey would so _not_ be okay with the non-prescribed usage of it. But Beca's already been kind of nervous about hacking through her set, so she downs the liquid and murmurs her gratitude into Chloe's hair when the redhead helps her out of the car.

Beca briefly chats with the bouncer about letting the rest of the Bellas through the rope when they arrive, because Aubrey and Chloe had happily announced, upon admitting themselves back into Beca's dorm room, that they'd invited the others to join them in the hopes of cheering Beca up tonight. And Beca thought it was super sweet of them, so she'd hugged them both and whispered 'thank you,' because, while she'd really meant what she'd said about wanting to be there for Aubrey and Chloe during their last few practices as Bellas, she'd also been pretty upset that she was losing out on the small amount of time that she had with the rest of the girls before the summer rolled around.

But three hours later, and Beca's still feeling miserable. A little hazy from the cough syrup, but definitely still miserable. And she's eager to get the night over with, and on with their plans to shack up at Aubrey and Chloe's for the weekend.

She tries to get into the feel of it, because, dude, this is Beca's fucking _thing_ – this is what she _does_, and she's fucking _good_ at it – but she feels terrible.

And, also, she's not really very happy with what she can see happening down on the floor.

The Bellas (or who had showed up of them, which really only included Amy, Cynthia-Rose, and Stacie) had conquered a well-positioned table at the corner so that Beca could see them from the DJ booth (and, Beca thinks, probably so that Chloe and Aubrey can see _her_, because she knows it kind of turns them when Beca does her 'DJ thing,' even if Beca doesn't understand it at all), but Beca kind of wishes that they _hadn't_ sat there.

Because, okay, some douchebag keeps sending over drinks for Chloe – and Beca knows they're not even the kind that Chloe even _likes _– and the redhead keeps _accepting_ them. And, okay, yeah, Beca knows what she's doing, because Chloe wasn't even fucking kidding when she said that she thought Aubrey's jealous tendencies were sexy. But even from her booth across the club, Beca can see the muscle of Aubrey's jaw flexing with tension.

And, dude, Beca can tell the difference between when Aubrey's gearing up for possessive sex and when she's all out preparing for battle, and this is definitely the latter. But Beca's pretty sure that Chloe doesn't know the difference, otherwise she definitely wouldn't be keeping this up. Because when Aubrey prepares for battle, it results in a lot of screaming that Beca just _knows_ means that she won't ever get to sleep tonight.

So Beca queues up a mix that she's been working on for Aubrey that blends the blonde's favorite Black Eyed Peas song with the 'timeless classic,' Aubrey calls it, of 'I Love Rock and Roll,' in the hopes of calming her down a little. And it works, because when Aubrey hears it, her shoulders fall just enough to let Beca know she's noticed, and she pitches a warm, happy glance in Beca's direction that makes Beca smile, even though she's miserable.

But another hour later, when Beca's set is about to close and she's making her way out of the booth, she sees the douchebag from earlier wandering down in Chloe's direction. And Aubrey sees it, too, Beca knows, because her entire body goes rigid and she frowns something _seriously_ serious before searching Beca out in the crowd. Beca can all but hear the reprimands that are about to fly out of her mouth when the blonde jock-looking guy finally approaches Chloe and tries to strike up a conversation.

So Beca sighs, carefully inserts herself between them, and says to him firmly, "Dude. Our bed's crowded enough as it is. Go troll somewhere else."

And, okay, Beca's irritated, because she totally feels like she's about to collapse with exhaustion (even though she's slept all fucking day), but she thinks the cough syrup might be affecting her a little. Like, she _knows_ she's kind of outing their relationship right now, but her head is swimming a little, and she can't exactly remember why that's a bad thing.

"Excuse me?" The boy asks, and his brows furrow inward with confusion, but he also sounds a little defensive, and maybe like he's not understanding Beca's message, here.

And that's just not going to work out for Beca. Because _she_ knows what Chloe's doing, but _Aubrey_ definitely doesn't, and if Beca doesn't do something about this guy, she's pretty sure that Aubrey will. And Beca's pretty sure that it's definitely better for everyone involved if she handles it, instead.

So she rolls her eyes and says slowly, "She's taken, man. Find some other hot chick to take home tonight, okay?"

And when he huffs and stalks away, Beca falls into an open seat that Beca's almost definitely sure was reserved for her, and, with her head against her arms, resting solidly against the table, Beca turns to Chloe.

"I swear on all the music on my hard drive that if you do another thing to invoke Aubrey's jealous rage before I fall asleep tonight, I will rip out your ginger soul and feed it to the pet wolves in Aubrey's closet," she says blankly.

Chloe winces and looks at Aubrey a little sheepishly, but she combs her fingers through Beca's hair and murmurs, "Sorry."

"Give that to Aubrey," Beca says, nodding her head at Chloe's newest drink. "She looks like she's going to be sick."

"Probably because you just pretty much told all of the Bellas that we're in a relationship," Aubrey swallows thickly. "Thanks, Mitchell. That was really smooth," she says, but she doesn't actually sound angry, which kind of surprises Beca a little.

So Beca shrugs. "We're moving in together next _week_, Bree. I'm pretty sure they would've figured it out eventually, and, plus, I really need to – "

"Woah, woah, woah," Cynthia-Rose says, holding her arms up.

"Yeah, hold the phone, aca-bitches," Fat Amy says, staring between them incredulously.

"You're together? Like, all of you? _Together?_" Cynthia-Rose asks.

Beca groans and ducks her head further into her arms. Okay, no, she hadn't really been thinking this part through. Because, yeah, they'd decided that they were going to tell the Bellas next week, so it's not _so_ bad, but still… she wasn't really up for this right now.

"Yes," Aubrey says, downing her drink fluidly and dropping the glass to the table with a soft clatter.

The table hushes with silence, tempered only with the roar of the crowd around them, until Stacie turns to Cynthia-Rose and asks casually, "Am I, like, totally gay if I think that's hot? Because I do," she says decisively. And then she looks mildly contemplative for a moment before she adds, "I think it's _super_ hot."

"Ehh," Fat Amy replies, bobbing her head from side to side. "Maybe, like, a liiiiitle bit," she says, in that high pitched voice she gets when she's about to confess something she maybe feels uncomfortable with. But Beca can never really tell with Amy. "But then that might make me a bit gay, as well, soooo…" Fat Amy trails off.

Okay, so Beca might be better at reading Amy than she thought. _Kudos to me_, she thinks wryly.

"Please," Chloe scoffs happily. "We're, like, the hottest thing since the caveman invented fire. You're totes not gay. It's just a fact," she chirps confidently, reaching out for Aubrey's hand and tightening her fingers gently.

"Well, she _might_ be gay," Cynthia-Rose supplements grumpily. "I mean, you never know, right?"

"CR," Beca sighs, "I'm pretty sure you definitely _do_ know that you're gay."

"Maybe I am, too. I'll figure it out later," Stacie shrugs, totally oblivious to the fact that she's totally just made Cynthia-Rose's fucking _year_. "Let's get another drink," she demands, flinging her arm into the air to catch the attention of a bar employee making rounds through the tables.

"Wait," Aubrey frowns. Because obviously she'd been expecting _more_, and, for some reason that Beca just can't fathom, is not okay with accepting this victory for what it is. "So you guys are… alright? With us?"

"You're still our captain, Captain!" Fat Amy declares loudly. "And we still love you all just as much, even if Mitchell here hates us for it."

"I don't hate you," Beca mumbles defensively.

"Then tone down that 'tude you've got going on, Mitchell," Cynthia-Rose grins. "We're having a good time here."

"Beca's sick," Chloe sighs. "She's grumpy because she doesn't feel well."

"You do look kind of… awful," Stacie decides sympathetically.

"Yeah, you guys should take your girl home," Cynthia-Rose nods, understanding creeping over her face as she actually takes a moment to absorb the dreadfulness that Beca's sure is layering over her whole fucking body.

"Yeah," Beca agrees eagerly. "Take me home."

And some of the tension in Aubrey's shoulders falls away as she turns to look at Beca, and Beca doesn't really get it – not until Aubrey asks softly, "Home?"

"Yeah," Beca confirms with a small smile. Because she does get it now. Because she's going back to Aubrey and Chloe's tonight – they've already decided. "Home. With you and Chlo."

"Okay," Aubrey says breathily, and she clears her throat. "Okay, Beca. We'll take you home."

"I might swoon from your adorableness right now," Chloe grins. "You're both the best. C'mon. I have to sneak Beca some more cough syrup, so let's go."

Beca snorts, but it melts into a cough that attacks at Beca's lungs. "Jesus, Chlo, your stealth needs some serious work."

"I'm totally stealth," Chloe frowns. "I'm like a fucking ninja, I'm so stealth."

And Beca sighs. Because, no, Chloe isn't stealthy – like, _at all_ – but Beca's happy, anyway. Because she's here, with Aubrey and Chloe. And she's here with her friends. And, okay, so they're all a bunch of fucking misfits, but it's still totally awesome that they accept Beca and Chloe and Aubrey for what they are.

And this is really fucking nice. Even if she is a little miserable.

* * *

_Author's Note:_ Okay, so I lied. It's shorter than the others, but it turns out that I needed the distraction. And this scene was kind of fucking with my head all day, anyway. Hope you liked this (actual) final installment! Also, search YouTube for 'Black Eyed Peas Vs. Joan Jett' to hear the song.


End file.
